


New Horizons

by Noenoe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A/U, Dumbledore Bashing, Evil Dumbledore, Ginny Weasley Bashing, Good Slytherins, Hermione Granger Bashing, Master of Death Harry Potter, Multi, Ron Weasley Bashing, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-02-23 05:55:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 50,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13183755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noenoe/pseuds/Noenoe
Summary: Harry Potter defeated Voldemort and instead of the perfect world he dreamed of, he realized the world was not black and white. When Harry realizes the light side is every bit as evil as the dark side - Harry sacrifice everything to fix past mistakes.





	1. The Battle of Hogwarts and after

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter does not beloong to me, I just like to play a bit

Harry Potter stood in the Great Hall, looking at the dead body of Voldemort. It was finally over. The Dark Lord was defeated. Their world was safe once again, but the price for their freedom was so high. Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora “Tonks” Lupin, Fred Weasley, Colin Creevy, Severus Snape and so many more. Voldemort caused so much death and destruction, starting with Myrtle and ending with Severus Snape. Harry’s heart clenched at the thought of Snape, the man he hated so needlessly. The man died knowing everybody believed him to be a murderer and evil. How horrible his last months on the planet must have been…

The Weasleys surrounded the body of Fred. Hermione cradled a crying Ron in her arms. Percy sat crying, glad that he at least had the chance to make peace with his brother. Molly rocked Ginny in her arms. Harry tried to offer his condolences, but Molly waved him away with a scowl. Harry could not blame them, ever since he met the Weasley family he endangered them. Ron was in danger since the very first day on the train. Arthur got bit by Nagini. Bill scarred by Fenrir Greyback. And now he caused the death of one of their children.

Harry left the Great Hall, he needed to bring Severus in. It was not right that he was still in the Shrieking Shack. It seemed as if everybody already forgotten about the man. The true hero. A man who gave every last breath in his body to ensure victory to the Light.

On his way out he passed the dead bodies of everybody who died defending the castle. Those who fought with Voldemort were discarded on the outside, nobody cried over their bodies. Nobody cared that Pansy Parkinson lost her father. Sure the man was a Death Eater and Pansy tried to hand him over to Voldemort, but he was dead. He could no longer harm anybody. One could argue that Pansy wanted to hand him over to Voldemort because she believed in the mad wizard, but one could also argue that she was frightened and wanted to protect the lives of the innocent children inside the castle. Besides all those Death Eaters had family and they loved that person, regardless of their mistakes. But nobody cared for Pansy’s grief or the grief of the family members of the fallen Death Eaters. In their eyes they were scum and deserved to be treated like garbage.

The Malfoy family sat alone at a table. Lost and frightened. Harry vowed to speak on their behalf at the trials which were sure to follow. Draco was a mere child himself, following his father’s advice. Narcissa did lie for him in the forest and saved his life. Lucius may have been a bastard, but none participated in the final battle. Besides, having Voldemort as a “guest” in your home, desecrating every last space, was punishment enough. Harry also knew Draco was Severus’ godson. If anything, he would have done it for Severus’ sake.

Dennis Creevy was crying next to Colin’s body. Harry regretted every moment he snapped at Colin when the boy tried to take his picture. His total belief and hero worship of Harry Potter had gotten him killed.

Remus and Tonks. Laying side by side. Andromeda was brushing Tonks’ hair, crying. She lost her husband, daughter and son-in-law. At least she still had Teddy. Harry stopped. Remus had been the last link to his family. He loved and respected the man, just as much as Remus loved and respected him. In fact, Remus and Tonks, loved and trusted Harry so much they named him godfather to their first (and last) child.

“Mrs Tonks…”

Andromeda snarled in Harry’s direction.

“Have you not done enough Mr Potter? Look around you. Everybody who ever loved you, trusted you and believed in you. Look the damage you caused! I hope you are proud of your handiwork. Your parents, Sirius, Remus, Nymphadora…” her voice broke when she uttered her daughter’s name, “Teddy will grow up without ever knowing his grandfather and his parents. All thanks to you!”

A lump formed in Harry’s throat. He could not dispute the words from the grieving woman. If only he had been stronger, he would have been able to prevent the deaths of everybody. But because he had been weak, Pettigrew rejoined Voldemort and brought him back to life. It was his fault that everybody died, starting with the death of the old muggle, Frank. No, Mrs Tonks was correct, if not for him, his parents would not have died. Every death afterwards were his fault, because he never had been strong enough.

Dejectedly Harry left the Great Hall. He still had to retrieve Severus’ body from the shack and make sure he was honored with the rest of the heroes. It seems Aunt Petunia had been right after all. He was nothing more than a useless freak.

Harry did not see the frowns on the Malfoy family’s faces when they heard the hateful words coming from Andromeda Tonks. They all realized had it not been for Harry, everybody would have died. Harry did the best he could. Those that died in the battle, on both sides, died for the cause they believed in. Blame for their deaths could only be placed on Voldemort. He had been the catalyst to cause this.

Somehow the walk down to the Shrieking Shack felt longer than when he thought he was walking towards his death. He cried for each and every death. Starting with his parents right through to Severus Snape. He even mourned the deaths of Vincent Crabbe and Pansy’s father. All of them died because Voldemort hated him and wanted him dead, because he had been too weak to fight Voldemort previously.

Harry knelt next to Snape’s body. He was horrified and sad that nobody came for Snape, nobody cried over Snape, nobody cleaned his body, nobody cared. All Snape had was Harry Potter, a boy he hated with every fiber of his being. 

After he gently cleaned Snape he levitated him back to the Great Hall. Even if nobody else cared, he did. He would honour the spy. The Malfoys saw Harry return with Severus. As one they rose and paid their respects. He may have betrayed the very cause they believed in, but they honored him none the less. Not only was he Draco’s godfather, but he was the ultimate Slytherin. The only one able to fool the Dark Lord to the very end.

 

******

Nobody noticed the changes. At first the changes were made carefully. A small, seemingly insignificant law here and a small law there. Nobody complained when it was made law that all convicted Death Eaters be handed over to the Dementor’s to be Kissed. Why would they? The law only affected Death Eaters after all. Harry did testify on behalf of the Malfoys. Instead of being kissed, Lucius received a sentence of fifteen years in Azkaban, Narcissa ten years and Draco five. They accepted their fate stoically, thanking Harry for speaking on their behalf.

The following morning Harry received a summons to Gringotts. He believed the goblins would be furious with him and they were, but they also thanked him for pointing out weaknesses in their security. Griphook spoke on Harry’s behalf and any transgressions by Harry Potter was forgiven, especially since Harry returned the sword of Gryffindor to their rightful owners, as agreed upon.

Griphook handed Harry a parcel from Lucius Malfoy. Back at Grimmauld Place Harry read the letter.

“Mr Potter,

If you are reading this, then even your pleas on behalf of myself and my family failed and we were either Kissed or sentenced to Azkaban. Kindly accept my most sincere apologies for my behavior ever since I met you. I will never regret the decisions I made in life, my only regret is that I dragged my family down with me.

I am still of the belief that the wizarding and muggle world should remain separate. I still believe that the muggle world poses a danger to the wizarding world and should we ever be discovered I fear the systematic eradication of the world we both love.

I do however concede that following the Dark Lord has been a most erroneous decision on my behalf, as the man I chose to follow all those years ago and the man you killed differed from each other as night from day.

Somewhere through the years the Dark Lord lost his mind and abandoned his lofty goals. The man I chose to follow promised a world where all magical children would be protected from abuse, especially abuse by muggle guardians or family members.

The man I chose to follow never was a good man, but he was an honourable man. His ideals were to protect the magical world, to fix what was wrong and broken in our world. He was never anti-muggle, but rather pro-magical. I know it is a rather small distinction and more like splitting hairs, but therein lies my belief in him and my reason to follow him.

What happened to the man who vowed to protect all magical beings? What happened to the man who believed in the upliftment and betterment of our world?

But now he is dead and nobody will remember the good he did, since his evil deeds outweigh everything good. It is my sincere hope that our world may now be able to heal and the atrocities that happened to you, Severus Snape and even the Dark Lord, will never be repeated. That the Ministry will now take active interest in taking care of the magical community, watching over muggleborn children and orphans. Time will only tell.

Enclosed with my letter is a package. The box is charmed to open only in the event that our world did not learn this valuable lesson. If our world either refuses to change or change for the worst and the problems our world face are beyond redemption, the charms will break and you will be able to open the box.

Inside you will find a gift. Something you may be able to use, should our world be in danger once again. You will know what to do, if and when the time comes.

I pray to Merlin that the box will stay sealed for all eternity and that you never need to use the gift.

May your future be bright and peaceful.

 

Kind regards,  
Lucius Malfoy”

Harry tried to open the box, but just as Lucius promised he was unable to. He never told Hermione or the Weasleys about the letter or the box.

Harry’s friendship with Hermione and the Weasleys suffered. Molly and Arthur blamed Harry for Fred’s death, Ron was angry because he believed Harry was the reason his application to the Auror Department had been rejected, Ginny was angry because Harry refused to rekindle their relationship. George never blamed him for Fred’s death and neither did Bill or Charlie. They secretly met once a month at Grimmauld Place for dinner and reminiscing about the past. Harry made sure to reinforce the wards around Grimmauld Place and even placed the old house once again under the Fidelious charm, Griphook consented to be the Secret Keeper, as Harry did not trust anybody else.

Hermione finished her seventh year at Hogwarts, Ron never obtained his NEWTS, Harry studied independently obtaining NEWTS in Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and after hours of studying and countless Pepper-Up potions he even obtained first his OWLS and then his NEWTS in Arthimancy and Ancient Runes.

Harry sometimes wondered if his ambition is what alienated him from Hermione, since his final scores were higher than hers. Not that he ever rubbed it in her face, but without Voldemort trying to murder him and the soul shard removed from his head, he could actually concentrate and study. Also the disruptive presence of Ron Weasley had been absent.

Hermione started working at the Ministry as a junior employee in the Regulation of Magical Creatures Department, hell bent on changing the wizarding world.

Ron helped George a bit with Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, before leaving, well actually George asked him to go. Ron was rude to the customers and had the bad habit of helping himself to the products and even the contents of the cash register. Molly refused to speak to George close to a year.

Then Ron tried his hand at professional Quidditch, but not even his beloved Chudley Cannons wanted him. They did give him an opportunity. Ron Weasley was the best friend of Harry Potter, but they quickly learned that Ron’s performance was erratic at best, the most miniscule amount of taunting and he would lose his temper and abandon the goal posts. After suffering the tenth consecutive loss, not that they ever won, but losing by a point margin of three thousand to nil, was kind of a deal breaker. At least the points difference used to be lower.

Ron tried to force Harry to put in a good word and join the Auror Corps, even though he never completed his NEWTS and his marks during his school years were dismal at best. Kingsley Schacklebolt personally declined Ron’s application. Afterwards Ron started working at the Ministry as a cleaner, his grades did not even qualify him for Maintenance. He took every opportunity to blame his failures on Harry Potter.

Ginny completed her final year, obtaining one NEWT in Defense Against The Dark Arts. Unlike Ron, she was an excellent Quidditch player and was quickly snapped up by the Hollyhead Harpies. She tried to rekindle her relationship with Harry, but Harry declined. He did not forget the way she treated him after the Battle of Hogwarts and how she agreed that Harry was to blame for George’s disfigurement and Fred’s death. Not even George blamed him. Besides he heard more than once about her conquests, even while trying to rekindle the relationship, which made Harry doubt the sincerity of her feelings.

******

The changes to the magical world had been subtle at first. Then the Ministry started to arrest former Slytherins, whether they supported Voldemort or not. They were dragged before the Wizenmagot. Slytherins were attacked and the Auror Department received instructions not to investigate their claims. Files regarding their complaints went missing. Harry left the Auror Department, not willing to compromise his sense of justice.

Next Slytherin was abolished from Hogwarts, the corridor leading to the Slytherin Common Room sealed and forgotten. Every portrait of former Slytherins were removed from Hogwarts and destroyed.

Then came the werewolf and vampire hunts. Within a year every werewolf and vampire had been eradicated. Nobody complained to loudly as they were dangerous creatures, unable to fight their evil natures. The rest of the wizarding world followed their British counterparts’ lead. The world were free of vampires and werewolves. Soon every last giant and troll suffered the same fate. Still nobody spoke against the Ministry. It was not as if anybody really cared about werewolves, vampires, trolls and giants. The only half giant to escape the purge had been Rubeus Hagrid, but only because it was a well-known fact that the man followed Albus Dumbledore blindly and not even death stopped Hagrid from following Dumbledore.

The events that followed made Harry actively try and open Lucius’ gift. First the news broke that the Malfoy family received the Dementor’s Kiss, even though Draco was to be released within a month.

Hermione Granger-Weasley rose through the ranks and was promoted to Head of Regulation of Magical Creatures Department. She managed to pass a law that freed every last house elf, whether they wished it or not. The elves were sent into the world. Unable to find employment, as the same law that freed the elves, also prohibited wizards to employ house elves in any way, shape or form. The goblin nation rescued the house elves, who would have died without their symbiotic relationship with the magical family they served. Every last house elf disappeared, protected by the goblins. Only Kreacher remained in Harry’s service, but only because the goblins made Harry’s home unplottable.

Squibs replaced house elves and soon became servants to witches and wizards. A brief, but intense debate followed regarding the abuse and torment squibs suffered, Zacharias Smith wholly supported the idea of using squibs as servants, stating that they (squibs) should just be glad to be welcomed back into the wizarding world.

Then a law was passed whereby each and every magical child were forced to attend Hogwarts. The parents who could not afford to pay the school fees, became indentured servants to their children’s sponsor. Their indentured service lasted eight years.

Then a law was passed whereby the Sorting Hat was used to screen potential Slytherin students. Any student who would have been sorted into Slytherin was immediately removed from Hogwarts, their wands snapped and their magic bound. They were forced into servitude to the light families.

Within a month a law had been passed that would ensure every magical child sorted at the age of five, potential Slytherins were sold on the market and on the date of their seventeenth birthday, they were removed from society and the Dementor’s Kiss administered.

Rita Skeeter was once again employed by the Daily Prophet and within a week of her re-appointment the first scathing articles against Harry Potter saw the light of day.

First he was accused of being the next Dark Lord, that he was privately plotting and planning on overthrowing their world and declaring himself as the Supreme Leader.

Then came the accusations that the cheated on every exam he had written, even on his NEWTS.

Then he was accused of accepting bribes during his time as an Auror.

Finally he had to read in the Daily Prophet that Andromeda Tonks sued him for the deaths of her husband, daughter and son in law. The Weasley family sued him for the death of their son and willful endangerment of their family.

According to the scathing article, Harry refused to acknowledge correspondence from them and failed to appear in court. In his absence he was found guilty.

The Wizenmagot awarded Andromeda Tonks the amount of twenty million galleons for the deaths of her husband Ted, her daughter Nymphadora Tonks Lupin and son in law, Remus Lupin.

The Weasleys were awarded an amount of three hundred million galleons for the death of Fred Weasley, the scarring of Bill Weasley which he obtained after an attack by Fenrir Greyback, the attack on Arthur Weasley when Nagini attacked him in the Department of Mysteries, the maiming of George Weasley, the possession of Ginny Weasley at age eleven and the danger Harry supposedly exposed her to in the following years, punitive damages for a supposed broken marriage contract (which never existed in the first place), the attacks and danger to Ron Weasley and the attacks and danger to Hermione Granger Weasley.

Ginny Weasley issued a statement that Harry promised to marry her, forced her to have an abortion when she became pregnant with her child and regularly abused her. Allegations Harry would have scoffed at, for the love of Merlin, he was still a virgin, and seriously doubted if he ever would marry.

******

These articles were followed by even more unrest and mysterious deaths. Luna Lovegood and her father wrote scathing comebacks to the false allegations in the Daily Prophet. They believed and advocated the innocence of Harry Potter. They died when their house exploded. Hermione Granger-Weasley released a scathing report as to the mental instability of the Lovegood family and the fact that the Lovegoods proudly displayed an Erumpent horn in their living room, foolishly claiming it to be the horn of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

Next came Garrick Olivander who refused to believe the articles in the Daily Prophet, telling everybody he would believe in the goodness of Harry Potter until his dying day. He died two months later in St Mungo’s. If newspaper reports were to be believed, Garrick suffered from dementia and contracted Dragon Pox. At his age, nobody expected him to survive the illness.

Filius Flitwick stood firmly behind Harry Potter. He lost his position at Hogwarts and when the Aurors came to arrest him, he was suddenly accused of being a Death Eater, he fled and obtained protection from the goblin nation, even though he was only one quarter goblin.

Kingsley Schacklebolt, another ardent supporter of Harry Potter, soon found himself suspended and subject to an intensive investigation. He disappeared without a trace.

Neville Longbottom, his wife Hannah Abbott Longbottom and grandmother Augusta Longbottom called the Ministry and the public at large fools. After Susan’s pub, the Three Broomsticks, which she bought from Madame Rosmerta was burned to the ground and Neville was fired from Hogwarts, the Longbottom family disappeared from public view. Despite intensive investigations the whereabouts of Kingsley Schacklebolt, Augusta Longbottom, Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott Longbottom could not be ascertained and they were considered to be the first new followers of the Dark Lord Harry Potter.

The world really turned ugly the moment Hermione Granger-Weasley became the new Minister of Magic. Without any training, Ron became the head of the Auror department and Ginny the Chief Warlock of the Wizenmagot. Aurors were allowed to use the Unforgiveable curses to obtain confessions from suspected dark wizards. Their world turned into a farce, the same madness that ruled the muggle world during the witch hunts, now ran rampant through the magical world. 

Spouses turned against each other, children turned their parents in, grandparents threw their grandchildren to the wolves. Charlie Weasley called Hermione a crazy bitch, drunk on power, the next morning Aurors arrested him and executed him on the spot when he apparently tried to evade arrest.

Dennis Creevy confessed, after five hours of interrogation, that Harry Potter was busy gathering supporters and was indeed a Dark Lord. Arrest warrants were issued for the Dark Lord Harry Potter and his known loyal followers, Bill and Fleur Weasley, George Weasley, Neville and Hannah Longbottom, Augusta Longbottom, Filius Flitwick and Kingsley Schacklebolt.

That was the morning the mystery box cracked open and Harry knew that their world was beyond redemption. Nobody was safe. The light side would never be pleased. With Hermione at the helm, their world was in shambles. The Ministry murdered and killed all dark wizards and creatures. Then they targeted those of the grey faction. They’ve murdered every last werewolf, vampire, giant and troll, there has been rumors of the Ministry were planning targeting sphinxes, dragons, merpeople and even the centaurs. As a special favour to her arachnaphobe husband, every last acromantula were already destroyed.

Harry tried through the years to save many witches and wizards targeted by the Ministry, but he knew that for every one he managed to save, the Ministry murdered four. Those he saved were forced to hide amongst the muggles, cut off from the world they fought so hard to save.

Finally the Ministry decided to openly target Harry Potter, but as usual they had it all wrong. Harry was not a Dark Lord, all he tried to accomplish was what he had been doing ever since his birth, surviving and saving as many as he could.

Opening the box the first smile in many years graced his face. Lucius had been a genius. He managed to save one time-turner. It was the only time turner in existence and it was a special time-turner, normal time-turners could only turn back minutes and hours. This time-turner was able to turn back years.

Harry’s only decision now was to decide how far back he wished to go. Briefly he wondered whether he would be able to save his parents, but decided against it. That would be one step to far, because the loss of his parents was what motivated him to fight. He definitely wanted to save Severus Snape and all those who died during the final battle. Then he knew, he would return to the start of his third year. He could save Sirius, stop Pettigrew and stop the return of Voldemort.

Before taking that final step, Harry just had to see Hogwarts one final time. He apparated to the clearing in the Forbidden Forest, the very same clearing he faced Voldemort all those years ago. Since it was summer, he did not have to worry that any students may stumble across him.

Harry silently slipped through the forest. Even after all these years he would never forget the path he took at what he believed was to be the final steps he would ever take. He found the place where he dropped the Resurrection Stone. He never returned for the Hallow, even though Ron and Hermione pressed him to do so. He never even told anybody exactly where he dropped it. Somethings were really best left alone and the Resurrection Stone was one of those things.

He quickly found the stone, before spelling the stone into the middle of the old tree in front of him. Now nobody would ever be able to find the Resurrection Stone. Not that it mattered, since Harry was technically still the Master of Death and possessed all three hallows. He transfigured his old wand to resemble the Elder Wand and his father’s invisibility cloak was still in his possession. Even Ron and Hermione believed he returned the Elder Wand to Dumbledore’s tomb.

Just beyond the tree line Harry stopped. There was no reason to expose himself now. Not with Hagrid and McGonagall proclaiming him to be the new Dark Lord. He wondered if they were under the influence of a spell or a potion. Hagrid had been his friend since the night he came to retrieve him from the Dursleys and he always respected and liked McGonagall. 

Laughter reached Harry. He noticed the three people emerging from Hagrid’s hut. Ron and Hermione walked hand in hand, Hagrid followed close behind them. Ron pointed towards the castle and started waving at the two people leaving the castle, on their way to join the small group in front of Hagrid’s hut. Harry’s legs buckled, he could not believe his eyes. One was Minerva McGonagall. The other wizard was a man Harry believed to be dead. He was quite old now, but still had a spring in his step. His long hair rippled in the breeze.

The two groups reached each other and Hermione hugged the dead wizard warmly. Even at that distance, Hagrid’s voice carried. “Good morning’ Albus.”

Harry tried to convince himself that it had to be a lie. He saw Severus Snape cast the killing curse on Albus Dumbledore, blasting him from the tower. He saw Dumbledore’s dead and broken body. He saw the body of Dumbledore in his tomb when he placed his old wand with the dead headmaster.

The truth of what happened punched Harry in the gut. Dumbledore faked his own death, he made Severus a pariah and caused his death, since Voldemort believed Severus was the Master of the Elder Wand. It explained why, up until Harry stopped answering Ron and Hermione’s letters, they kept badgering him for the Resurrection Stone, his invisibility cloak and even the Elder Wand. Ron kept complaining that he would never have replaced the wand in Dumbledore’s tomb. It made sense now, Dumbledore was searching for his old wand, he wanted the Elder Wand back. He coveted the Resurrection Stone and the invisibility cloak. Dumbledore wanted to be the master of the Hallows.

He realized his friendship with Ron and Hermione had been nothing but a lie, since the very moment he met Ron and his family at King’s Cross all those years ago. Why else would a wizarding family, as large as the Weasley’s use the muggle entrance? Why else would Molly Weasley complain loudly about the number of muggles, mention Hogwarts and Platform 9¾?

His whole life had been a lie, everything he fought for and died for was nothing but a lie. His parents had not been the saints Dumbledore and his ilk tried to paint them as. His father had been a bullying twat, he enjoyed tormenting Severus Snape, who was a better and braver man than James Potter could ever have hoped to be. His mother was a horrible friend, who abandoned her supposed best friend over one word, a word uttered in a moment of weakness and shame. And she not only abandoned Severus Snape, she went and married the man who made his world a living hell.

Not one of the adults he admired and trusted while growing up, where worthy of his trust and love. In the end they all betrayed him and abused him just as much as the Dursleys had done.

Quietly thanking Lucius Malfoy and sending a quick prayer to any deity that may have happened to be listening to his plea, Harry started turning the time-turner. He will fix this world and he will no longer be made the fool of. There was a flash of light and Harry Potter disappeared.


	2. For Everything There is A Season

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the text is a direct quote from Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone

The light faded, leaving Harry with a massive headache. The angry sounds of banging against the door made him shot up from the floor. He crumpled to the ground when his head met something very hard above him.

At least he managed not to utilize some of his best swear words at the sudden pain, as he recognized the banging and the angry shouting. It had been years since he last heard his Aunt’s voice, screeching at him. But it was a sound he would never been able to forget. How could he? Sixteen years hearing her, screaming at him, calling him a freak, ordering him to clean this, cook that. He never wished his only remaining family harm, however poorly they treated him, but after the war and before he went into hiding, he never tried to find them. The Dursleys were a part of his life he never wanted to remember again.

He wondered what went wrong. The time turner was supposed to send him back to 1991, which it apparently did, but why was he once again a scrawny little boy. It was obviously before his eleventh birthday, since Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon begrudgingly gave him Dudley’s second bedroom after the first Hogwarts letters showed up.

“Come on boy! Stop being lazy and get up. We have a busy day ahead of us and Dudley needs his breakfast. He is a growing boy after all.”

As Harry entered the kitchen he noticed the pile of presents on the table. He immediately knew the date. Today was the 23rd of June, as it was Dudley’s birthdate, but which year? Harry just finished plating the food when Dudley stomped into the kitchen. 

Merlin but the boy used to be fat. Harry wondered why nobody told Aunt Petunia the truth before Dudley went to Smeltings. Not that the enforced dieting worked, since Dudley only managed two days’ worth of dieting, before his tantrums melted Aunt Petunia’s resolve and she brought him the kinds of food Dudley wanted. It was only after the Dementor attack that Dudley changed, both mentally and physically.

Dudley started counting the presents, he counted them again and then a third time. Harry could almost hear the gears in his brain grinding to a halt as he tried to count higher than ten. His bottom lip started wobbling, with the impending tantrum Harry finally realized the full date. It was 23 June 1991. Today was Dudley’s eleventh birthday. He would receive his first Hogwarts letter on the 24th of July.

What Harry really wanted to do was hide the first letter he receives, but then he will be in a bit of a pickle. How was he going to send his answer to Hogwarts? How will he get to Diagon Alley and even withdraw money from his vaults, since he did not have his key. He will not be the same innocent little fool he had been the first time round. This time he will make sure to keep his key on his person and escape the clutches of his family as soon as possible. And if Albus Dumbledore think he will be his willing little sacrificial lamb, he better think again. This time Harry will not fight the Sorting Hat. He may just order the hat to place him in Slytherin.

He finally decided to keep to the original timeline as closely as possible and would rather wait for Hagrid to retrieve him from that miserable hut in the middle of the sea. Best let Dumbledore and his scum believe Harry is still the stupid little nitwit. They will soon learn the error of their ways.

“Mummy!” Dudley started wailing, finally realizing the number of presents he received this year were less than the tally from the previous year. “I got only 36 presents!”

“It’s 37 Diddykins. See, there is another present beneath the present from Aunt Marge.”

“But I got 38 presents last year!”

Dudley was really building up to a tantrum of epic proportions. Aunt Petunia quickly placated her spoilt son.

“Honey, after we come back from the zoo, Mummy and Daddy will buy you two more presents.”

Simple maths were beating Dudley like a red headed step-child. Harry could almost see Dudley’s brain crashing and burning.

“Then I’ll have thirty…thirty…”

“Thirty nine Duddykins.”

Aunt Petunia rescued the poor overwrought brain of Dudley by supplying the correct answer. Uncle Vernon chuckled from behind his newspaper. “That’s my boy. Little tyke wants value for his money, just like his father.”

Placated, for the moment, Dudley started gulping down his breakfast. Harry was really glad he managed to slip a piece of bacon and eat it while he cooked breakfast. Between Weasley and Dudley it was quite the conundrum as to the winner of “Most Horrendous Table Manners”.

The moment the telephone started ringing, Harry remembered another important little titbit. Mrs Figg was supposed to babysit him, while the Dursleys visited the zoo, but Mrs Figg broke her leg when she tripped over one of her cats and was unable to take him in, forcing the Dursleys to drag him along to the zoo. Moments later Aunt Petunia entered the kitchen.

“We’ve got a problem. Mrs Figg broke her leg and will not be able to take him.”

Even if Harry could not remember the future, he still would have known about whom Aunt Petunia was talking about. They never used his name. They always referred to him as Boy, Freak or Potter. They always spoke as if Harry was either not present in the room or too stupid to understand.

“What about one of the women from your book club?”

“No, none of them trust the boy. They would never consent to look after him. What about Marge?”

“You know Marge hates the boy. Besides he frightens her dogs.”

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon sighed at the same time. They just realized they were forced to take Harry Potter to the zoo. Harry tried his luck, maybe they will leave him alone at the house this time. He could use the time to prepare a proper meal for himself and take a nice hot bath. He forgot how dirty he always used to be. Not that anybody could blame him, cold water can do only so much.

“Aunt Petunia? I could stay home?”

Uncle Vernon nearly choked to death on the coffee he’s been drinking.

“And destroy our house in our absence? I do not think so boy. I wish we could leave you chained outside to the tree, but then one of those mamby-pamby tree huggers would only call the police, complaining about child abuse.”

Harry nearly rolled his eyes. He wish one of those so called mamby-pamby tree huggers would have called the police, everybody knew the Dursley disliked their ward. Everybody knew he was treated different from their spoilt offspring, it was a well-known fact in Little Whinging that Harry Potter was the smallest skinniest boy, always covered in bruises, but somehow nobody ever complained to the proper authorities. Not even his teachers at school ever tried to help him. Harry wondered whether Dumbledore placed a Notice Me Not charm on Harry to ensure nobody would or could be able to help Harry. He wanted his little weapon broken and starved for attention, grooming him to be the perfect weapon.

Dudley finally realized that his cousin was going to the zoo with them. Immediately he scrunched up his face, bottom lip trembling and started wailing. “B…but Mommeeee the freak is going to ruin my whole day!”

The fat little bastard even managed to squeeze honest to goodness tears from his eyes. Harry almost applauded his cousin’s Oscar worthy performance. Aunt Petunia gathered her precious little Diddykins in her bony arms, consoling the poor child, bribing with yet another extra present. Still wailing, snot and tears flowing in every direction, Dudley gave Harry a smug little grin. A grin that said, “See freak, this what happens to little boys and girls who have parents who love them. We get hugs and kisses and presents.”

A few seconds later they heard a car door slam, announcing the arrival of Dudley’s friend and guest to the zoo, Piers Polkiss. In a flash, Dudley’s tears and snot dried up, it would not do for his best friend to see him all snotty and in the arms of his mother. Aunt Petunia opened the door, while Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry by the arm and painfully dragged him upstairs. Dudley was all smiles when Piers handed him two presents, one from himself and one from his parents.

Upstairs Uncle Vernon had Harry in a death grip. Harry just knew by the end of the day his arms would be covered in thick finger shaped bruises, almost as purple and angry looking as Uncle Vernon looks right about now.

“Now listen here Potter. Against my better judgement we are forced to take you along to the zoo. I am warning you. No funny business. Step one toe out of line and you will not be able to sit properly for a month! Do you understand me?”

Harry nodded, “Yes Uncle Vernon. No funny business.”

On the way to the zoo Uncle Vernon lost his temper quite a number of times. He swore at an old lady crossing the street “Ruddy old people. They should be locked up for our safety. Nothing but road hazards.” A gay couple nearly caused him to roll the car “Look at that Petunia, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. It is unnatural, two men pretending to be in love with each other. At least we know we are raising a real man, but that one” pointing a meaty thumb in Harry’s general direction “there’s no hope for him.” A young man with long hair shot past their car on a motorcycle. This set Uncle Vernon off on yet another tangent of hatred and anger. The gates were well and truly open now as he condemned motorbikes, Harry, men with long hair, Harry, senior citizens driving cars, Harry, politicians, Harry, gays, Harry, the rising cost of living and Harry, to name but a few.

Harry was squashed in the backseat with Dudley and Piers taking up most of the space. Piers did not want to sit next to Dudley’s little freak cousin, but since it was Dudley’s father’s car and Dudley’s birthday, he consented to sit in the middle. Dudley took up most of the backseat, being about the size of a baby hippopotamus, which meant Harry sat squashed into the door, his face pressed to the glass, the door handle digging into his right side. Every time Uncle Vernon shifted in his seat in front of him, Harry’s legs were nearly crushed. Harry decided not to remind his loving family about the dream he had of a flying motorbike, besides he now knows it had not been a dream, but a memory.

Harry forgot how tasty the lemon ice lolly had been on that summer’s day. The only reason why Aunt Petunia bought him the cheap lemon treat, was because after the ice cream lady sold large ice cream cones to Dudley and Piers, she asked Harry which one he wanted before Aunt Petunia could drag them away. The line of waiting customers behind her, prevented her from saying he did not care for ice cream, since every parent knew no child would ever decline an ice cream, regardless of the weather.

Harry did not mind then and he most certainly did not mind now. The lemon lolly may have been the cheapest treat and may have been the most unpopular treat available, but Harry still liked it. It was cold and refreshing and it reminded him that his life was about to change for the better.

Harry still made sure to stay as far away as possible from Dudley and Piers. It was as if Dudley expected the animals to start singing Disney songs, and since none of the animals suddenly donned top hats, started tap dancing and burst into spontaneous song, Dudley grew bored. The only animals Dudley cared about was the meat on his plate. A bored Dudley always equated to Harry being pounded to a bloody pulp.

Lunch was still nice, even though Aunt Petunia only ordered a plain tomato sandwich for Harry, he also still received Dudley’s Knickerbocker, since he complained the one he received was too small.

After lunch the group went off to the reptile house. For a few seconds Harry contemplated not talking to the boa constrictor. The punishment for that little mishap had been brutal, but it was also the most fun Harry had in his life. Dudley complained because the snake weren’t doing anything. Uncle Vernon tapped one fat meaty finger on the glass in an attempt to force the snake to do something. What did those idiots expect a snake to do? It was not as if snakes were fed with visitors gawping at them. Unlike monkeys, snakes were not about to fling bits of poo at people who irritated them.

Uncle Vernon finally realized he was not able to rouse the boa constrictor to do something and left, muttering a curse, aimed at the snake. Hopefully some of the other creatures in the reptile house were more interesting than the snake.

The snake must have felt Harry’s magic as he lifted his head slowly winking at Harry. Harry smiled at the snake.

*Sssorry about that. You mussst be usssed to idiotsss by now.*

If a snake could smile, Harry would swear that was what the snake was doing now.

“Yesss, well, what can I do? I’m ssstuck here, dreaming of Brazil.”

“I know you’ve been bred in captivity. Do you want me to try and free you?”

“Ssso kind human. If you are able to free me, I will not forget you and will tell every sssnake I meet about you. What isss your name human?”

“Harry Potter. Lisssten carefully, sssoon the ssskinny boy will notice you acting ssstrangely. The ssskinny boy and the really fat boy will thump on the glassss. I will try and make the glassss dissssapear, sssetting you free.”

Harry barely finished speaking when he heard Piers’ excited screaming, Dudley stomped over, knocking Harry to the ground. Just like the first time Harry managed to make the glass disappear, freeing the boa constrictor. Dudley and Piers started hopping and screaming. Dudley managed to piss his own pants. Hiding his smirk Harry wondered how did he miss that the first time round. Dudley’s screams reached octaves which would make a soprano envious as the snake playfully snapped at the two bullies’ heels, before slithering away, hissing happily, “Thanksss amigo! Brazil here I come!”

An hour, five cups of coffee, two brandies, countless apologies and refunding of their entrance fee later saw a placated Petunia and Vernon Dursley leave the manager’s office. During the trip home Dudley and Piers could not stop talking about the missing glass and the freed snake. By the time they arrived home Piers made it seem as if the snake was about to swallow him whole and only Dudley fighting the snake off with a piece of wood, saved Piers’ life.

The moment they stepped into the living room, Piers said the one thing Harry completely forgotten about. “I saw Potter talking to the snake.”

Uncle Vernon’s face turned an alarming shade of puce, he clutched at his chest, gasping for breath he gave Harry the glare of death before biting each and every word out. “YOU. CUPBOARD. NOW. NO. DINNER.”

Harry also forgot about the severity of the punishment after his little adventure at the zoo. They only let him out twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. During those five minutes he had to use the toilet and fill his water bottles. Aunt Petunia shoved two slices of dry bread in his direction, just to ensure the little freak did not die of starvation in their house.

It was a month later before they finally let him out of the cupboard, Harry suspected mostly because the house was beyond filthy and Aunt Petunia was too lazy to clean the bloody thing herself. Glancing at the almanac on the wall, Harry realized it was the 24th of July. The first of his Hogwarts letters would arrive this morning. He also remembered by his time Dudley managed to destroy all the gifts he had received for this birthday and had already run Mrs Figg over, laughing like a loon all the way home. The Dursleys were a prime example why some people should never be allowed to breed.

******

The last week had been fun. Seeing all the frantic measures Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon took to escape the sheer number of letters addressed to Harry. The temper tantrums from Dudley because he was missing more and more of his beloved television programs. The absolute terror and paranoia plastered on the faces of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Their utterly useless escape from the house, with Uncle Vernon muttering to himself, scaring Aunt Petunia to silence and Dudley to tears. And here they were. Stuck in the little hut on the rock in the middle of the sea. Dudley’s first wasted tantrum because he was missing some program or the other, because he wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed, because he was hungry and cold and the couch he had been forced to sleep on smelled funny.

Harry kept quiet. Silently he made himself as comfortable on the floor as he could. In four hours Hagrid would knock down the shack’s door and dutifully inform Harry about his magical powers and finally deliver his Hogwarts letter.

A minute to midnight and Harry once again drew a picture of a birthday cake. Uncle Vernon was snoring very loudly, competing with the storm on the outside to rattle every window in the little shack. Aunt Petunia was still ordering Harry around to clean the kitchen, even in her sleep she could not let Harry be. Dudley snored and farted. The poor abused couch groaned beneath the bulk of the overweight boy.

Midnight. It was officially 31 July, his eleventh birthday.

“Happy birthday Harry. Here’s to a better world and a better future.”

Five minutes past midnight and Hagrid finally showed up.

His first booming knock made the small shack vibrate. Dudley gave a loud fart, before asking, “Where’s the cannon?”

The second knock produced Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon stumbled into the front room, the shotgun grasped tightly in his meaty hands. Aunt Petunia cowered behind her husband, hiding from the danger. Uncle Vernon could have hidden a rugby team behind his body and nobody would have known they were there. “Who’s there?” Uncle Vernon shouted, the shotgun slightly trembling in his hands “I warn you – I’m armed”

The third and final knock was so powerful it knocked the door clean from its hinges. Hagrid stood there, still the largest man Harry ever saw in his life. The first time Harry met Hagrid he thought the man was a giant, not that Harry had been wrong as it turns out Hagrid was a half-giant.

Hagrid squeezed into the hut. He had to stoop a bit, but his head still grazed the ceiling. Behind him the storm raged. Hagrid bent down, picked the door up from the ground, before fitting it back into the opening. At least the noise from the raging storm died down a bit. Hagrid made a point to look at every person in the room.

“Couldn’t make us a cup o’ tea, could yeh? It’s not been an easy journey…”

Hagrid made his way to the sofa. Dudley sat there quivering like a bowl of jelly, the blanket he complained so bitterly about, drawn about him, as if he could use it as a shield.

“Budge up, yeh great lump.”

Dudley bolted from the sofa and ran to his parents. Both Aunt Petunia and Dudley now hid behind Uncle Vernon. The shotgun in Uncle Vernon’s hands were doing its solo performance of the Mexican wave. Hagrid turned his black eyes to Harry, crinkled with a smile “An’ here’s Harry. Las’ time I saw you, you was only a babe. Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh’ve got yer mum’s eyes.”

Uncle Vernon tried to clear his throat, he tried to sound like a tough confident man, brandishing a dangerous weapon. He did however sound like a broken squeaky toy when he demanded Hagrid leave the hut, as he was breaking the law. In another display of strength and probably an effort to endear him to Harry, Hagrid told Uncle Vernon to shut up, called him an old prune, ripped the shotgun from Uncle Vernon’s hands. As before Hagrid bent the shotgun into a ribbon before throwing it in a corner.

Harry just sat there, seemingly gob smacked at the appearance of Hagrid and everything he had to say. Mentally he gave Dumbledore and Hagrid a standing ovation. The lying, lemon drop sucking old coot ticked all the boxes on how to win the undying loyalty of his chosen perfect weapon. Because never forget, Dumbledore was the one who sent Hagrid to retrieve Harry from the ruins of his home, taking him away from his godfather. Events that sent Sirius Black on a downwards spiral, culminating in his wrongful incarceration in Azkaban for a crime he never committed.

Harry could almost see Dumbledore ticking off the boxes on his ‘How to earn the undying loyalty of Harry Potter”  
1\. Send Rubeus Hagrid to terrify and terrorize Harry Potter’s muggle family.  
2\. Be friendly with Harry Potter. Smile at him, talk in soft soothing tones.  
3\. Feed Harry Potter little pieces of information regarding his parents.  
4\. Give him a birthday cake and feed him.  
5\. Tell him about magic and that he is a wizard.  
6\. Tell him about the evil wizard who murdered his parents.  
7\. Take him away from his muggle family and show him a bit of magic.  
8\. Buy him a birthday gift.

Hagrid was good, but Harry was better. He pretended to be shocked and delighted. Asking the right questions, he was not supposed to know anything at all. The naïve little boy was gone, he now relived his first contact with the wizarding world as a jaded man. While it was fun to see Uncle Vernon cowed like that and the pig’s tail on Dudley, the punishment he received afterwards were not worth it. Besides Dudley did not really deserve being hexed with a tail. He only behaved the way his parents groomed him to behave. Children were not born spoiled and bad, it was something they learned from their parents. Dudley was just as abused as Harry had been.

For the first time Harry also wondered at Hagrid’s display of magic. When Ron broke his wand in their second year, he was unable to perform proper magic with it. The spells either misfired, backfired or failed to work at all. Hagrid supposedly hid the pieces of his broken wand in his umbrella, but was still able to perform perfect magic with it. He used his “broken” wand to start a fire, give Dudley a pig’s tail and charm the boat to steer itself. The Ministry might have snapped Hagrid’s original wand, but that did not mean Dumbledore procured a new wand for Hagrid.

******  
Hagrid stole the boat Uncle Vernon hired, leaving them stranded. Yes Hagrid, stealing their only means of leaving the rock will really endear me to my magic hating family.

“Hagrid, how did you get to the island last night?”

“I flew, but I’m not supposed to use magic now that I’ve got yeh.”

Harry mentally gaped at his own stupidity. Dumbledore sent a man to retrieve Harry who was not supposed to use magic or even possess magic. By Hagrid’s own admission, albeit a few years later that brooms could not carry him and he knew for a fact only Voldemort could fly without the aid of a broom, so how did Hagrid arrive on the island. Either he used a thestral, but why not request the thestrals to wait for him or he apparated. And he accepted Hagrid’s excuse that he flew

Hagrid rowed a bit, before he tapped his umbrella to the side of the boat, charming the boat to row by itself and faster than a mere rowing boat was supposed to go.

“Jus’ to speed things up. I’m not really supposed to use magic, but yeh won’t tell?”

As if anybody would believe him. Who could he tell? He was not supposed to know anybody in the wizarding world. But Harry just smiled and agreed with Hagrid. To keep the conversation going and since he was expected to be ignorant, Harry timidly asked Hagrid.

“Uh, Hagrid, I can’t afford buying all those stuff on the school list. I can’t even afford to go to Hogwarts. You heard Uncle Vernon, they won’t pay for it.”

Hagrid scoffed and started telling Harry about Gringotts, the goblins, his vault and the money his parents left him, making him believe that one vault was the only vault and not just his heir vault. He casually informed him about the supposed dragon, which Harry knew was more than a mere rumor, and how he wished to have a dragon as a pet.

This was the kind of man Dumbledore entrusted the life of the supposed hero of the wizarding world in. A man who thought dangerous creatures to be cute and fluffy teddy bears. One who had a pet acromantula and let the thing loose in the Forbidden Forest, knowing full well those things craved human flesh. One who had a vicious three headed dog, called Fluffy of all things. A man who cross-bred dangerous creatures for the fun of it

As much as Harry loved Buckbeak and considering the fact that Draco was a prat and probably deserved the attack, it was stupid of Dumbledore to appoint an untrained wizard to be the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, one with the dangerous proclivities Hagrid had and allow him to teach a bunch of hormone driven thirteen year old boys about hippogriffs. Harry saw the advised curriculum and hippogriffs were only supposed to be taught during their seventh year.

They finally entered the Leaky Cauldron, just on the other side was Diagon Alley. A place Harry had not been able to visit in many years. He knew Knockturn Alley suffered massive raids, until finally every last shopkeeper had been arrested. Of course nobody complained, Knockturn Alley was notorious after all, filled with dark magic and dark evil objects. The name stayed, but they turned Knockturn Alley into a row of cheap flats for young wizards and witches fresh out of Hogwarts and new to the workforce. By the time Harry used the time-turner, Knockturn Alley was a slum. Filled with the poorest of the wizarding world, smugglers, thieves and prostitutes filled the alley. If somebody wanted to purchase contraband, they slipped into Knockturn Alley. The nights were filled with fighting couples, the Aurors were called to Knockturn Alley almost ten times a night, every month the Aurors descended in force on Knockturn Alley and their raids always produced a large number of prohibited items. Harry always felt that the items found, were those the denizens wanted to be found, just to keep the Ministry happy.

Fortescue’s was still brightly lit and decorated. They produced the tastiest and creamiest ice creams. Harry wondered briefly what happened to the family, as they disappeared before the war and never returned. Voldemort kidnapped Olivander, but that was because he wanted something from the old wandmaker. Why would the bother with Fortescue? The family were neutral, they never aligned themselves with either the Dark or the Light. But maybe that had been the problem, because they refused to align themselves with Dumbledore and the Light, they would have been deemed dark and evil and had to be removed ‘for the greater good’.

Hagrid walked up to the first free goblin at the counter.

“Good morning, I’ve come to get some money out of Mr Potter’s vault.”

The goblin glared at the half-giant. It was not the first time Hagrid or Dumbledore showed up with Mr Potter’s key to remove money from the heir vault. A practice they detested, but since Dumbledore appointed himself as Mr Potter’s magical guardian and came to Gringotts with the necessary paperwork, there was not much they could do about it. It was detestable, but legal. At least the restrictions on the main Potter vaults kept the contents of those vaults out of the hands of Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore used Harry Potter’s heir vault as his personal piggy bank and they shuddered at what would have happened if he had been able to access the main vaults.

“And does Mr Potter have his key?” They knew well enough that Mr Potter did not have his own key. No Albus Dumbledore took possession of the key and rubbed them wrong, but with all the necessary and legal paperwork, their hands were tied. Gringotts management desperately wanted to speak to Harry Potter.

“Hold on a minute. I’ve got it in here somewhere.”

Hagrid started digging through his pockets, removing bits and pieces, placing it on the counter. A few mismatched buttons, a shriveled apple, a few dog biscuits, twigs, four muddy pebbles, old pieces of candy (covered in lint, hair and Merlin knows what else), a clump of hair, before finally locating the key. The key was stuck to a half-eaten piece of toffee. The goblin looked ready to murder the half giant in front of him. Hagrid placed the rubbish back into the pockets of his coat, had at least the decency to remove the sticky piece of toffee from the key, before handing the key to the goblin.

With a disgusted look on his face, the goblin took possession of the key. Closely inspecting it, hoping that the key was either counterfeit or damaged in some way, but besides being sticky, the key was in good order and indeed the key to Mr Potter’s heir vault.

“The key seems to be in order.” 

In a fit of spite he handed the key to Harry Potter. It was his vault, so why should he not be able to hold his own key. He pretended not to notice the irritated look on Hagrid’s face. Hopefully the child will be able to hang onto his key, but knowing Hagrid and his blind loyalty to Dumbledore, the key will be removed from Harry Potter before the end of the day.

“I also have a letter from Headmaster Dumbledore about the You Know What in Vault 713.”

Both Harry and the goblins rolled their eyes. Between Hagrid’s proclamation in the Leaky Cauldron that Dumbledore sent him on important Hogwarts business and his fake whisper in Gringotts the wizarding world would know Hagrid removed something important from Gringotts and taking it to Hogwarts. The only way the news could have reached the magical community faster if Dumbledore placed an advertisement in the Daily Prophet.

“Very well, follow Griphook. He will take you to the vaults.”

The breakneck ride was still as thrilling as it was when he first experienced it. Hagrid was green around the gills when Griphook stopped the cart at Harry’s vault. Still he made a show of it to climb out of the cart and accompany Harry to the vault. Griphook took Harry’s key, unlocking the vault. Harry just remembered to sound excited at the sight of the money on the inside, even though he now knew this was merely his heir vault. 

“See Harry, I told yeh. Yehr Mum an’ Dad did not leave yeh without any money.”

Hagrid helped Harry fill his bag with some coins. “Now ‘Arry the gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones Sickles and the bronze ones Knuts. It’s seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty nine Knuts to a Sickle.” Hagrid closed the bag and handed the bag of coins to Harry. “Right, that should be enough for a couple of terms. Headmaster Dumbledore will keep yehr key safe for yeh, ‘Arry” 

Hagrid placed the vault key into one of his pockets. He ignored the glare Griphook sent his way. He was ordered by Dumbledore to make sure the Potter boy do not have easy access to the vault, besides how else was Dumbledore supposed to make withdrawals from the vault if Potter has the key? Hagrid turned to Griphook “Vault 713 now. And can we go more slowly this time?”

Griphook gave the half-giant a very toothy grin, “One speed only.” The oaf would never know there was more than one speed, but since Hagrid and his Master abused the vault of Mr Potter, the goblins vowed to make their visit to Gringotts as miserable as possible.

They went deeper and deeper into the bank. Harry loved every second of the wild ride, he enjoyed it and Hagrid’s discomfort even more now. Hagrid once again made a show of removing the mysterious package from Vault 713, not that Harry really wanted to ask the lying bastard what was in the vault, since he knew Hagrid would not tell him and really because he already knew.

One wild cart ride later and Hagrid and Harry stood blinking in the sun outside of the bank. Harry remembered the first time, the weight of the money pouch, the feeling of utter joy, not knowing where to run off first, the knowledge that he could buy whatever he wanted and it was not something abused by Dudley beforehand.

Hagrid steered Harry in the direction of Madame Malkin’s. Harry remembered it was right here that he met Draco Malfoy for the first time. This was also the most opportune time to escape Hagrid and return to the bank.

“Might as well get yer uniform.” Hagrid stared longingly in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron, “Listen Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate those carts at Gringotts.”

Harry nodded and smiled, telling Hagrid it was fine, he looked like he could use it. Harry waited until Hagrid left before he quickly ran back to Gringotts. He would no longer allow Dumbledore to dip into his heir vault as if it was his piggy bank. The same goblin was free and Harry quickly gave the goblin a respectful bow, asking for the Potter account manager.

The goblin quickly called Griphook over, chattering in Gobbledegook. Griphook turned to Harry, “Mister Potter. Please follow me. Your account manager, Ragnar, will be with you momentarily.” They entered an opulent office, the carpet thick, soft and lush. It was one of the most beautiful offices Harry had ever seen in his life, the carpet thick, soft and lush. It was one of the most beautiful offices Harry had ever seen in his life, the whole office screamed of money and taste. Griphook pointed to one of the chairs in front of Ragnar’s desk. “Please take a seat Mr Potter. May we offer you some refreshments?”

“Thank you Griphook. A glass of orange juice please? If not, I will enjoy a glass of ice cold water.”

Griphook’s eyes widened, goblins were not used to genuine respect from most humans. They were treated at best with absolute distrust and at worst as nothing more than mere mindless filthy beasts. Also the boy requested either orange juice or water instead of the vile pumpkin juice Albus Dumbledore had been pumping down the children’s throats.

Griphook quickly returned with the glass of orange juice, for which Harry thanked him. Goblins were a warrior nation, they were proud, extremely cunning and smart. He respected them and they learned to respect him. With goblins it was always best to be as honest as possible and if you treat them with the necessary respect and honesty, without groveling, they will respect you and go the extra mile to protect your interests.

Ragnar entered the office. He already heard about Harry Potter finally re-entering the wizarding world. They despaired when it became clear Dumbledore sent his lapdog to accompany the young wizard, but it seems like Mr Potter dodged Hagrid.

“Good morning Mr Potter, my name is Ragnar and I am the Potter account manager. How may I be of assistance?”

“Good morning Ragnar. I would like to know at which age may vault owners hold their own keys? I’m only asking because I learned last night that I am a wizard and only this morning about the vault here at Gringotts. You can imagine my surprise when I learned that my parents were not worthless drunks that got themselves killed in an accident, burdening my muggle family with the expense of caring for me. I was very surprised to learn that I am the owner of a vault filled with money, but I am a bit worried. You see Rubeus Hagrid, he works at Hogwarts, had been sent by Headmaster Dumbledore to bring me to Diagon Alley and to shop. Hagrid had my key, apparently Headmaster Dumbledore gave him my vault key, after I removed money from my vault, Hagrid took my key back, saying Headmaster Dumbledore would keep it safe for me. Now, my muggle family do not care much for me, but if I’ve heard Uncle Vernon say it once I’ve heard him say it a thousand times that one must never trust somebody else with your money. I believe my vault key is somewhat like a muggle ATM card and how can I protect my own money, if somebody else has access to it?”

Ragnar snarled. The original order made by the Wizenmagot was that Dumbledore were to keep the key safe, until Harry Potter rejoined the wizarding world. At that time, Dumbledore was to hand the key over to Harry Potter and the Potter accounts manager will monitor the finances in the heir vault. The original order was controversial to begin with since children received the keys to their vault at age five, with an added limitations as to the amount of money which may be withdrawn from the vault. It formed part of their training and helped young children to appreciate the value of money.

“Mr Potter, my most sincere apologies. The fault you withdrew money from was merely your heir vault. That money was never meant to pay for your school supplies, but as your savings account. Heir vaults are used to teach young witches and wizards about the value of money and are usually used by the children to purchase gifts, toys, snacks and such. You were also supposed to receive the key on your fifth birthday. But in accordance to an order issued by the Wizenmagot and one we were reluctantly forced to obey, your key was handed over to Albus Dumbledore, with the stipulation that the key should be placed in your possession on the date you rejoined the wizarding world. Gringotts in general and me, as your account manager, in particular was to monitor the money you spent, acting as your teacher regarding finances. It has now become clear that the wizarding community and Albus Dumbledore will never obey their own laws and orders, Gringotts will take full guardianship of your accounts. We are unable to take guardianship of you personally, but you may rest assured that we will handle your finances expertly. Who would you like to grant permission to make withdrawals on your behalf?”

“At the moment, nobody but myself. In the muggle world there is something called a credit card, it is basically something muggles carry instead of money to pay for any of their purchases. The shops send the slips to the bank and the bank deposits the money directly into the shop’s account. Don’t you have something like that?”

Ragnar again gave the young wizard a toothy grin. “We do Mr Potter. Do you wish a Gringotts Card?”

Harry quickly agreed. The card would be safer than lugging a bag full of coins around. Harry asked Ragnar to deposit the coins in his bag, back to his Heir vault, keeping only a small amount in cash. Harry arranged for a quality Gringotts wallet. He knew they were quite expensive, but the wallet meant nobody but himself could open it the wallet and steal from him. He made a vow that nobody would ever get to dip into his vaults again. If and when he decides to give money away, it would be with his consent.

Harry quickly ran back to Madame Malkins, he still had to buy his school uniform before Hagrid comes back from his trip to the Leaky Cauldron. Hopefully Draco was still inside, Harry already decided against fighting the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore will not be able to trick him and turn him against the house he had been meant to be sorted into.

Madame Malkin was just finishing with Draco when Harry entered the store. Harry had forgotten how arrogant Draco had been back then. But how much of his arrogance had been true and how much had been nothing more than a defense mechanism. Many people condemned Draco for the choices his father made, forcing him to blindly follow everything Lucius believed in. Lucius may have been wrong, but he still loved his wife and son and Draco loved his father. Calling a child evil just because he loved his parents were beyond stupid. Harry remembered Dudley in his later years, after he realized the way his parents had been treating Harry were wrong, he was disgusted and ashamed by their behavior, but they were still his parents, he still loved them. He hated their choices, but he did not hate them.

Harry patiently waited for his turn, listening with a small smile at Draco nattering about quidditch and wishing he could take his broom to Hogwarts. Harry nearly forgot about Hagrid and the ice creams the man brought. He enjoyed the ice cream, it was one of the tastiest things Harry ever had the chance to eat, but it was ten in the morning. Harry would have enjoyed and appreciated a sandwich more. He was hungry as he only ate one sausage when Hagrid showed up at the hut. Up until this point Hagrid did not even think to bring Harry as much as a glass of water.

Leaving Madame Malkin’s Harry took the ice cream from Hagrid, it would seem rude not to, besides he was hungry and the ice cream would have to do, since Harry knew this was going to be his only food for the day.

Going from store to store, Harry bought everything on his school list. Hagrid did not even realize Harry was paying with a Gringotts card and not the money he withdrew. Harry wished he could see Dumbledore’s face when he tried to access the vault again. The key in Hagrid’s possession was now useless and the next time Dumbledore visited Gringotts, wishing to dip his sticky fingers into Harry’s vault, he was going to receive a nasty little shock.

Harry did make a few changes from his first shopping trip. Instead of the standard, mass produced school trunk, Harry purchased one of the best trunks available. The standard school trunk cost ten galleons each, but was about as secure as a paper maché piggy bank. Harry’s trunk featured several security features, which would ensure that nobody would be able to open his trunk in rifle through his belongings. The trunk sported a variety of compartments, keeping his belongings safe, secure and clean. He also purchased a high quality dragon leather satchel for school. As with the trunk, the satchel was subject to feather-light and bottomless charms.

At Florish And Botts, Harry not only purchased the books on his school list, but a few extra books. He was not going to be the same clueless little nitwit he had been his first time at Hogwarts. Even now, there was so much he did not know about. His whole life had been about survival and saving others. First from Voldemort and then from the so-called Light side. If he was to save their world, he had to know every little detail about the magical world.

Entering Olivander’s nearly made Harry cry. The old man had been loyal and true to Harry Potter until the day he died. He kept the secret about Harry’s first wand being the twin of Voldemort’s, until Voldemort tortured the secret from his lips. He went to his grave with the knowledge that Harry still had the Elder Wand in his possession. Once again Harry was paired with the Holly and Phoenix feather wand, but he longed for the Elder Wand, that was his true wand.

Ragnar promised to retrieve his invisibility cloak from Dumbledore, claiming that according to an audit done by Gringotts the cloak should be in the main Potter vault, until Harry comes of age to claim it. Ragnar told Harry Dumbledore will be notified that he must comply with their demand, failure to do so will result in a fine of one hundred galleons per day, failure to comply within seven days, would result in a full audit of both the full Potter account (which incidentally include the Heir vault) and Dumbledore’s own vault.

Even using the time-turner did not negate Harry as being the Master of the Hallows. The three Hallows would acknowledge him for all eternity as their master. It will only be a matter of time before Harry is able to reclaim his Elder Wand, something Dumbledore would be powerless to prevent.

Harry’s shopping trip ended when Hagrid deposited Harry on the train leaving for Little Whinging, without a care as to how Harry was going to be treated by his family after he terrorized them and maimed their son. No the half-giant just shoved Harry on the train, handed him his ticket and told him that the train to Hogwarts will depart at eleven on the 1st of September from Kings Cross Station, Platform 9¾.

Harry dreaded the last month he was still to spend with the Dursleys. He remembered their treatment of him until the day he departed and finally his terror when he had been unable to locate the platform. If it had not been for the Weasley’s he never would have been able to board the train, but then again Harry suspected Dumbledore planted the Weasleys at the train station, knowing full well Harry would have been frantic and frightened. Yet another way he made sure Ron and Harry were to become friends and after a nice long train ride, being indoctrinated against anything, especially Slytherin and enforcing the idea that Gryffindor was the house for heroes and good witches and wizards. But not this time. This Harry Potter was not the same ignorant little fool, ready to follow Dumbledore blindly. This time the wizarding world would receive the hero they need and deserve, not the one Dumbledore convinced them they wanted.


	3. A New Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note some of the dialogue is from Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone. 
> 
> Harry Potter & all recognizeable characters belong to JKR, the rest is my own.
> 
> Thanks for all the comments & kudos. 
> 
> Happy New Year!

The last month at the Dursleys were just as horrible as Harry remembered. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon pretended that he was not there, that he did not exist, as if a boy named Harry Potter had not been living with them. Dudley was too scared to stay in the same room as Harry and ran away screaming when he saw Harry. This resulted in Aunt Petunia forgetting to serve Harry his one meal a day. Luckily Harry remembered to exchange some of his wizarding money for muggle money, which meant he survived his last month on take aways.

He would have loved never to return to the Dursley home, but he was unsure how close an eye Dumbledore kept on Number 4 Privet Drive. He knew about Mrs Figg, the batty old squib and member of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore placed her in Little Whinging to spy on Harry, but how many more spies did the old coot have? He wanted to give Dumbledore a very nasty surprise when he does not get sorted into Gryffindor, despite all of Dumbledore’s best little efforts.

The only thing he refused to do was beg Uncle Vernon for a ride to the train station in London. He decided to return to London the same way Hagrid sent him back to Little Whinging.

It was still dark when Harry left the house. He refused to greet his family, not really caring whether they realized he left or not. He remembered that they will be driving to London a little bit later, since they had to take Dudley to the doctors to remove the tail, but he had enough of the Dursleys. Closing the door softly behind him, Harry hoped that this would be the last time he closed the front door on Number 4 Privet Drive. He already sent Hedwig to Hogwarts last night his school trunk was already bound to attract attention and he would rather not draw further attention by carrying an owl cage around. Hedwig’s cage was safely stored in the bottom compartment of Harry’s trunk.

Harry dragged the trunk behind him, the little wheels clattering on the pavement. Harry was happy he paid the extra galleons for his trunk, since the feather light charm ensured an easy and uneventful trip to the train station. With a spring in his step, Harry boarded the train, ready for his new and better life.

Because he arrived so early at Kings Cross, Harry could afford to enjoy a relaxed breakfast, before carefully slipping through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. It was ten in the morning, the Hogwarts Express was already at the station, gleaming in the early morning light. A few students and parents were already there, but Harry slipped unnoticed past them and easily boarded the train.

Safely ensconced in his compartment, Harry waited for the circus to start. He wondered how long Molly Weasley would wait on the muggle side, before rushing to get her children on board. Hiding behind a book Harry watched more students arriving. It was hard to miss the arrival of the Malfoy family. Lucius and Draco’s silver white hair nearly glittered in the son. Their posture impeccable. Looking at them, one cannot be faulted to believe that they were as cold as ice, but Harry remembers. The Malfoy family was a normal family behind closed doors. A husband and father who loved and adored his wife and son. A wife and mother who loved her husband and son so much, she was willing to accept Voldemort as a guest in her home and would lie to the same Dark Lord to see her son one final time, a son who loved, honored and cherished his parents.

Crabbe and Goyle stumbled onto the platform, two boys who seemed to tower over the other eleven year olds. They used to make fun of Crabbe and Goyle, but Harry quickly reminded himself, it was not as if Ron was the brightest lumos in the wand either. In fact, Crabbe and Goyle were a tad smarter than Ron. Maybe with tutoring and encouragement the two boys could earn at least one NEWT each. And that would be ten more than Ron Weasley.

Pansy Parkinson followed, accompanied by her parents. Whatever Mr Parkinson may have done or were bound to do, it was clear he adored his daughter. Oliver Wood and his parents arrived. Closely followed by a very nervous Neville Longbottom and his imposing Grandmother. Harry recognized Susan Bones, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Lee Jordan, Marcus Flint, Cedric Diggory and the Patil twins. Still no Weasley family.

At a quarter to eleven, the platform was filled with students and parents. Slowly but surely students started to board the train, before saying goodbye to their parents. The first years were easily recognizable, not only by their size, but mostly by the tearful goodbyes and the number of mothers bursting into loud tears. But still the Weasley family was missing. Probably still waiting for the arrival of one Harry Potter.

At ten to eleven the first two red heads burst onto the platform. Fred and George were scowling and muttering between themselves. Harry was quite adept at reading lips and quickly picked up the conversation between the two pranksters. 

“I tell you that woman is losing her mind.”

“What came over her? We never use the muggle entrance.”

“And she’s never used the words: muggle and Hogwarts so loudly in front of muggles before.”

Harry snickered. He knows what has come over Molly Weasley. She is looking for a small, very lost and very frightened young boy. A boy who is scared that he is going to miss the train to Hogwarts. A little dark haired boy by the name of Harry Potter.

With barely a minute to spare a very haggard looking Molly Weasley burst onto the platform, dragging a screaming Ginny and a sulking Ron behind her. She bundled Ron onto the train, barely greeting him as the doors slid shut. The parents waiting on the platform for the train to depart gave the woman a wide berth, as if they wondered if she was about to start cursing and hexing innocent bystanders. The muggles and half-bloods were especially wary of the crazy woman. They know all about seemingly normal people who just snapped and started shooting those around them.

A few minutes into the train ride the door to Harry’s compartment slid open and Ron Weasley entered. “Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full.”

Harry nearly snorted, seems like Molly told him to search the train, hopefully finding the missing hero of the wizarding world. Well let the games begin.

“I don’t mind at all.”

Harry pretended to return to the book he was reading, but he really studied Weasley. The little idiot was trying to see if the boy in front of him might be Harry Potter, obviously looking for the scar. Since Dumbledore hid him away from the magical world, the only pictures in existence had been those of him as a baby. The only way the wizarding world would now be able to recognize him was when they saw the lightning bolt scar.

Ron tried to see if the boy in the compartment was Harry Potter, but up until now he’s been unsuccessful. His hair covered his forehead and he was reading a book. Ron hoped Harry Potter was not going to be one of those bookworms, besides Headmaster Dumbledore gave instructions to him that he must make sure to distract Potter from his schoolwork. His mum as a bit worried, because if Ron distracts Potter from schoolwork, then his own schoolwork would suffer. Headmaster Dumbledore calmed his mum right down and told her that once Potter saved the world and Ginny had married the boy, their futures would be secure. Ron would be able to walk into any work he might fancy, since he was the best friend and brother in law of the Boy Who Lived. 

“This is my first year going to Hogwarts.”

Harry’s smirk was hidden behind the book. So the idiot could not see whether he sported a scar.

“Mine too. I can’t wait. Potions seem like it is very exciting.”

“Nah, I heard the professor teaching potions is a vampire or something. He is really very evil and hates children. I heard his office is filled with jars of students he chopped up into potion ingredients.”

Ron really was stupid. Maybe his mother would be able to miss a child or two, but most wizarding families had only one, maybe two kids. One would think they would start missing their children if they just started disappearing from Hogwarts, an isolated magical boarding school in the middle of nowhere.

“My name is Ron, Ron Weasley and you…”

“Oh, Harry Potter.”

Ron nearly fell from his seat. He found Potter, but how did the boy find the entrance to Platform 9¾? His mum said Dumbledore told Hagrid not to tell Potter how to get on the platform, his mum was supposed to help Potter, something that would make Potter like them.

“Really? Can I see your scar?”

Harry swept his hair away exposing his scar. Unlike the first time this happened, Harry sees the action for what it is. Ron Weasley wanted to make sure he was really Harry Potter, he wanted to be friends with the Boy Who Lived, hitching a ride on the fame and fortune of the boy hero, without lifting a finger to advance himself. He had been so blind. So eager for friendship and acceptance that he latched onto the first person who was willing to talk with him.

“Wow, you’re really Harry Potter! So, uhm, what can you remember of that night?”

“I can’t remember anything. I was just a baby. What do you remember when you were a year old?”

Harry refuses to tell Weasley this time about remembering the green light. Besides it was not as if he believes Dumbledore’s cock and bull story about ‘love’ being the reason he survived. Surely his mother had not been the first witch to try and save her child’s life? His mother could not have been the first witch in history to sacrifice her own life to safe that of her child’s? So what makes him different from all the other children? There must be something more. Maybe his mother dabbled in blood magic, knowing full well Voldemort would eventually track them down and by standing in front of Voldemort, begging him three times to spare the life of her child and take her instead, maybe she activated some sort of charm. Maybe it was something else, but it was most assuredly not mother’s love alone that saved him that night.

“So, are all of your family wizards?” 

Weasley turned red. “Erm… I think so? I think Mum’s got a second cousin or something who’s an accountant, but we never talk about him.”

Another thing Harry missed the first time round. The Weasley’s, despite their claims to adore muggles and squibs, were just as ashamed to admit one of their own produced a squib. Arthur and Molly might tolerate muggleborns and half-bloods, but it was all about blood purity for them as well. Arthur is a pureblood who married Molly, who is, surprise surprise, a pureblood. They even refuses to acknowledge a squib family member. Harry wonders why Weasley mentioned the squib at all, until he realizes, it had been nothing more than a ploy to make Harry believe they were not bothered by blood status.

It could also explain Molly’s initial dislike of Fleur, because Fleur’s grandmother was a Veela, hardly making the girl a pure blood. She only seemed to accept Fleur after Bill’s disfigurement at the claws of Fenrir Greyback. Maybe she believed no other pureblood girl would want to marry a scarred man, irrespective of his blood status. 

“So you must know loads of magic already?”

Something Harry knew Weasley did not. He was too lazy to learn and came as ignorant as a muggleborn to Hogwarts. Weasley quickly changed the subject. 

“I heard you went to live with muggles. What are they like?”

As if he had a choice. Dumbledore dumped him on the doorstep of Aunt Petunia, in the middle of the night and left him there as a very nasty little surprise in the morning. There was no way he was going to inform the red headed little Weasel about his horrible family. Besides it was more fun to mess with his head. Not that there was a lot to work with.

“They are just wonderful. I live with my Aunt, Uncle and cousin, all muggle. I’m the only wizard in the family. I know not all muggles are like my family, but my family loves me to death.” Let the little bastard make of that what he will. “I wish I had more than just a cousin though. I wish I had brothers.”

Weasley sulked as he said, “I have five older brothers and one younger sister. My whole family went to Hogwarts, so I have a lot to live up to. Bill, my oldest brother, was Head Boy and Charlie, my second oldest, was Captain of the Quidditch team. Percy was just made Prefect and my Mum thinks he may just be the second Head Boy in the family. Fred and George are the twins, they get in a lot of trouble, because they like to mess around, but everybody likes them and they get good marks and everybody thinks they are funny. So what does it matter what I do? Everybody else has done it before, I’m not even the youngest since Ginny is the youngest and she’s a girl. I also never get anything new. Everything I owned belonged to somebody else first. I’ve got Bill’s old robes, Charlie’s old wand and even my rat belonged to Percy first.”

With that Weasley reached into his jacket producing the fat grey sleeping rat. Peter Pettigrew still hiding in his animagus form. How in the name of Merlin did the Weasley family miss the fact that the common old rat stayed alive all these years. Magical rats’ live spans were at most seven years, normal rats’ lifespans were three at most and that was only if the rat was somebody’s pet. This rat was still kicking after at least ten years.

“His name is Scabbers and he is really useless, he’s almost always asleep. My parents bought Percy an owl, because he was made prefect, but they couldn’t aff… I mean I got Scabber’s instead.”

Weasley blushed, seemingly suddenly afraid that he said too much. As if his rant about the second hand robes and wand could not possibly alert Harry to the fact that the Weasleys were dirt poor. The reason for their poverty could be laid squarely on the shoulders of his parents. Arthur Weasley started in the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts and was the Head of the Department, which was not really something to be proud of since his whole department consisted of two people, including himself. He received a pittance for a salary, which was hardly enough to support himself, let alone a wife and seven children. Every assistant he received where graduates, fresh from Hogwarts and within two years, his assistants were promoted and transferred to other better Departments. One really would have to start and wonder about somebody’s work ethic if that person had been stuck in the same department for more than twenty years. Molly Weasley never worked, she was busy raising their expanding family. One could not even call her a housewife, since she used magic to clean the house, make the beds and even prepare the food. The older children were utilized to help raise and care for the younger children.

Harry refused to sympathize with the plight of the Weasley’s financial difficulties. He will not be made to feel guilty because his grandparents, and even his parents – until they had to go into hiding – worked hard for everything they owned. It was not his fault his family was rich. It was also not as if he was going to flash the money around, but he refused to be ashamed of his family and their wealth. 

When Harry heard the clatter of the trolley, announcing the arrival of the friendly witch with the snack trolley he watched Weasley perking a bit. Ron Weasley tried his best not to seem overeager. This must be the snack trolley his brothers and parents told him about. Not that his older brothers were ever able to purchase anything from the trolley, but it had been mentioned to him. His parents also told them how reach the Potters were and Headmaster Dumbledore told him that Hagrid made sure Potter removed a lot of money from his vault. Surely Potter would want to buy a few things from the trolley and then he would share with him, because he would made sure to mention that his mum made him lunch. He quietly practiced disappointed that his Mum made him a corned beef sandwich, something she knew he hated, then Potter had to share the sweets he bought.

The door slid open, revealing the smiling dimpled lady. “Anything off the trolley, dears?”

Harry smiled at the lady, before approaching her, deciding what to buy. This time he was not going to go ape and purchase everything in sight. Maybe just one cauldron cake, a few licorice wands and a packet of Bertie Bott’s. It is not that he mind to share, but he will no longer be the fool, allowing Weasley to use him and abuse the friendship of a lonely abused child. Weasley muttered about having brought a packed lunch, blushing on que.

Harry really had to applaud Weasley. The boy might have been as dumb as a stump, but he was an excellent actor. Harry paid the lady, bidding her a good day, before sliding the door closed and returning to his seat. He opened his trunk and placed the licorice wands and packet of Bertie Bott’s inside, before opening his cauldron cake and started to nibble on it.

“You’re not hungry?”

Harry shook his head. “No, I had a big breakfast. Besides, I don’t have a whole lot of money with me and I don’t know about the differences between muggle sweets and wizarding sweets. So I just bought a few things I kind of recognized. I saw something about Chocolate Frogs and it seemed a bit, I don’t know, icky…”

“It’s not real frogs you know. It is just chocolate, but the frogs are charmed to give one jump. But what people really want is the collectable cards inside. You know, all the famous witches and wizards. I’ve got about five hundred of them, but I still need Agrippa and Ptolemy.”

Harry gave a small frown at that. Chocolate Frogs were not the most expensive sweet, but it was not cheap either. And for a family as poor as the Weasleys, who could barely scrape enough money together to buy clothes and school supplies for their children, to waste money on something as stupid as sweets, was just insane. It is not that Harry believes poor children should never receive sweets, they are still children, but he’s met quite a number of poor families and they would rather spend the money on food and buy the cheapest snacks for their kids. As much as children loves sweets, they love food even more. Harry could understand if the Weasley’s would enclose a chocolate frog with his birthday present or Christmas present, maybe even both, but the sheer number of cards in Weasley’s possession bothered Harry.

“Anyway, you should look out for Bertie Bott’s Every-flavor beans. When they say every flavor they mean it. You get the normal flavors such as chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but you can also get liver and spinach and tripe. My brother George reckons he had a bogey-flavored one once.”

Harry pretended to shudder.

“Well, then I’d better be careful once I open the pack.”

Ron made a show of opening his sandwiches, peeling the pieces of bread apart before giving a very loud sigh. “She always forgets I don’t like corned beef.”

Harry ignored him. There were children out there who would have cut off an arm for a corned beef sandwich. He still remembers his childhood years and the constant hunger. Aunt Petunia never packed him a lunch to school and sometimes his only meal for the day was a slice of dry old bread and if he was really lucky she would give him a chunk of old, hard cheese with the slice of dry bread. Besides he also knew for a fact Weasley ate a huge breakfast at home, packing enough food away which could have fed five adults.

Harry heard the knock and the door slid open. Neville poked his head into the compartment, tears forming in his eyes.

“Sorry, have you seen a toad at all? I’ve lost him and he keeps getting away from me.”

Harry gave Neville an encouraging smile. “I’m sorry, I’ve not seen a toad at all, but don’t worry. He’ll turn up and if I find him, I’ll make sure to return him to you. My name is Harry Potter and you?”

Neville gave him a watery smile. “Neville Longbottom. Pleasure to meet you.”

Neville was one of the few people who never cared for the fame of Harry Potter. He did care about Harry though and was one of his few true friends. Besides Neville had it worse than Harry. His parents were still alive, but there was nothing there. Bellatrix LeStrange made sure of that.

Weasley snorted. “Don’t know why he’s so bothered about it. If I brought a toad I would have lost it as quick as I could.” 

Realizing he might just sound like a total prat, Weasley quickly tried to salvage the situation. “Not like I can talk. I brought Scabbers. Look at him, still sleeping. The thing could have died and would not have known the difference. I tried a spell yesterday, to try and turn him yellow, but it did not work. Look, I’ll show you…”

Harry already knew the spell would not work, it was just a bit of nonsense George taught his brother to mess with his head. Weasley raised his wand and cleared his throat, getting ready to cast his utterly useless spell, when the door opened again.

Hermione Granger, already dressed in her school uniform entered, dragging Neville with her. 

“Has anyone seen a toad? Neville lost one.”

Granger with that bossy tone in her voice. The tone she used on everybody from fellow students to professors. One that claimed I’m smarter than you and nothing you can say or do will convince me otherwise. So you better bow down and acknowledge my superior intellect.

“We’ve already told him we haven’t seen his toad.”

Weasley was snapping at Granger, but even that seemed a bit rehearsed. Granger glared at the wand in Weasley’s hand.

“Oh, you’re doing magic? Well, show us then.”

Granger promptly sat down, without waiting for an invitation to do so. Neville fled the compartment. It was clear that Granger and her bossiness frightened him even more. Weasley cleared his throat, ready to impress Potter with spell.

“Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,  
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.”

Weasley waved his wand and absolutely nothing happened. Scabbers was still asleep, still fat and still grey.

Harry wanted to offer to turn the rat red, he knew just the spell that would work. Sectumsempra, but then he would never be able to prove Sirius’ innocence.

Granger snorted, “Are you sure that is even a real spell? Because it’s not very good is it? I’ve already tried a few simple spells, just for practice and they all worked fine for me. Nobody in my family has any magic and it was really such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased. Of course I mean, Hogwarts is the very best school for witchcraft there is and of course I’ve already learned all of our set books by heart and I just hope it is enough. I’m Hermione Granger by the way, who are you?”

That was something Harry wanted to bring to the attention of Snape and maybe Lucius Malfoy. How had Granger been able to use her wand, practicing spells, without receiving warnings not to? Besides, muggleborns did not just receive an owl with their letter inviting them to Hogwarts attached. Either a professor, a qualified one, or a member of the Board of Governors personally visited the muggleborn’s home, explaining to the child’s parents everything about magic and the Statute of Secrecy and the various rules.

Weasley introduced himself first, then Harry muttered “Harry Potter.”

Granger looked him up and down, disbelief written all over her face. “Are you really? I know everything about you. I have bought quite a few extra books, just for some background reading and you are in ‘Modern Magical History’ and ‘The Rise and the Fall of the Dark Arts’ and ‘Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century’. Is it true that you have a lightning bolt scar?”

“Oh, I am?”

“Of course you are. If it was me, I would want to find out everything about myself.”

Harry wanted to throttle the conceited girl. She, like Weasley, completely disregard the fact that Harry is only famous because of something that happened when he was a baby, something he had no hand in accomplishing and the very fact that his parents died that night. If he had been able to save his parents and defeat Voldemort, well then it would have been something for the wizarding world crow about.

“Do either of you know which house you will be in? I’ve been asking around and Gryffindor sounds by far the best house to be in. I heard Headmaster Dumbledore was in Gryffindor and he is the most powerful wizard since Merlin. I’ve read that even You Know Who was afraid of him and did not dare to attack him. Ravenclaw also sounds fun, but I would rather be in Gryffindor. I think I would go home if I get sorted into Slytherin. I’ve read that You Know Who was a Slytherin and that every witch and wizard who ended up in Slytherin, turned out evil. Well, I better go, I told Neville I would help him find his toad.”

With that Granger left their compartment, on her merry way to bother seven shades of dragon dung from the other students. This time round Harry recognized her speech for what it was, nothing but pure propaganda.

“My parents and brothers are all Gryffindors. I hope I’m one too, but I’d rather be in Hufflepuff than Slytherin. She was not wrong about Slytherin you know. My dad reckons Slytherins are all evil.”

Still playing dumb, Harry asked Weasley, “So what kind of jobs are there in the wizarding world?”

“Oh loads. Bill, my oldest brother works for Gringotts and is currently in Africa doing something for them. You know about Gringotts, yeah? The wizarding bank? Gringotts is run by goblins, nasty little creatures. Charlie is in Romania, studying dragons and stuff. You hear about the break in at Gringotts? It’s been all over the Daily Prophet. But I reckon you don’t get that in the muggle world. The Daily Prophet is a wizarding newspaper by the way. Well somebody tried to rob a high security vault.”

“Oh really, what happened to the robbers?”

“Nothing, that’s why it’s such big news. They haven’t been caught yet and the goblins said nothing was stolen. My dad reckons it must have been very powerful dark wizards to get around the goblins. He’s afraid that You Know Who is behind it.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. Up until the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries most of the wizarding world believed Voldemort was dead and gone. Only a select few believed Harry when he said Voldemort came back right after the final task in the TriWizard Tournament. So why would Arthur Weasley believe Voldemort had been behind the attempted break-in? Only Severus and Dumbledore believed Voldemort was not completely dead. The Order of the Phoenix were disbanded not long after Voldemort was vanquished in 1980. Dumbledore never confided in any of the other members of the Order that he believed Voldemort would or could come back one day. And nobody would have believed Severus, since they all believed the man was only lying to save his own skin and that he still was a follower of Voldemort.

Had it really been the wraith of Voldemort at the back of Quirrel’s head? It was not as if Harry remembered what Voldemort looked like, and the parasite neither resembled Voldemort as a teenager or as the adult version that emerged from the cauldron. Why would Dumbledore send Hagrid to Gringotts to retrieve the Philosopher’s Stone, when Hagrid were well known for his failure to apparently keep a secret? Not that Hagrid really turned out to be such a blabbermouth, since he managed to string Harry along, lying in his face and pretending that Albus Dumbledore died at Snape’s hand. Why would he hide the stone in such a fashion to let every person and his friend in the wizarding world know exactly where to start looking for the Philosopher’s Stone and set a series of traps three first years were able to solve? And wasn’t it just convenient that the series of traps played to the strengths of Harry and his two best friends? What if Harry and Ron never made friends with Hermione? Merlin knows by the end of the year Harry had turned into a lazy little sod, not even trying to put in a token effort at his schoolwork.

Ron tried to keep the conversation going. It took a little longer than expected, but if he played his cards right, he would have managed to convince Potter by the end of the train ride to be his best friend. 

“What’s your Quidditch team?”

Harry wanted to tell Weasley that it was most certainly not the Chudley Cannons. Instead he pretended not to know.

“Er… I don’t know any.” 

“Oh yeah, you don’t know anything about Quidditch. Growing up with muggles and all.”

That set Weasley off describing the game of quidditch to Harry. He explained the number of players, the different positions, the number of balls, how the points were scored. He went on and on about the famous games he went to with his brothers, yet another miraculous feat for a family as poor as the Weasleys. The broom he wanted, if only had the money to buy one. On and on he went, until the door opened once again. Harry could have kissed whomever it was, since it silenced Weasley.

Draco Malfoy entered the compartment with Crabbe and Goyle as his ever present shadows.

“Hallo, do you remember me? We briefly met in Madame Malkin’s? I’ve been looking all over for you. I spent the whole morning telling Crabbe and Goyle about the boy I met, but that I was so rude that I did not even properly introduce myself.”

Harry smiled at Draco. He could be a little bit of a prat. But most teenage boys were. They were all hormone driven, trying to find a place in the world, trying to be accepted by their peers. Most teenagers grew up and started behaving like normal and responsible members of society.

“I’m Harry Potter.”

At least the next words out of his mouth were not about his scar or the events leading up to the scar. He stuck out his hand in Harry’s direction, “I’m Draco Malfoy and this is Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.”

Weasley sniggered, which he tried to cover with a cough.

Draco was not ashamed of his name, either first or last. He was not even ashamed of his father. His father already told him that he made a few decisions in his life that he had not been proud of, but that was in the past. Lucius made sure Draco knew he loved him and was proud of his only child. There was nothing he would not do for his wife and son. Before he boarded the train his father once again reminded him how proud he was of him and that some people might react to his name, but that he should remember that he was his own person. Draco should not feel responsible for his father’s mistakes and if somebody wanted to treat him differently because of his family’s name and reputation, he should stay away from them. If they revered him because of his father’s reputation, he should never become friends with them, because they were only going to use him and if they chose to hate him, he should ignore them, they were even worth less of his attention than those who tried to curry favour.

But Draco was still a young boy and as young boys go, they usually lose their tempers at the drop of a hat.

“So you think my name is funny do you?”

Harry remembers what follow next and he quickly diverted Draco’s attention. There would be no reason for Draco to react to Weasley’s horrible manners. Their whole rivalry started because Weasley insulted Draco first and Draco reacted in the worst possible way, which prompted Harry to defend the boy he believed to be his friend.

“Nice to meet you.”

Harry stuck out his hand and a beaming Draco shook it. Weasley turned a nasty colour of red. 

“Harry, you should know. Malfoy’s father is a Slytherin, his whole family are Slytherins.”

“And? Draco’s not been sorted yet, has he? Besides I think this whole system kind of suck. I don’t know much of the wizarding world yet, but it seems to me like racism. The whole time I’ve been hearing only how good Gryffindor is and how evil Slytherin. But it seems to me like the only people who told me about the evil Slytherins and the saintly Gryffindors had been either Gryffindors themselves or kids who hopes they get sorted into Gryffindor.”

“But…but…but everybody knows Slytherins are evil. They killed your parents.”

“No Ron, it was not Slytherins who killed my parents. It was one wizard who murdered them. A wizard that happened to have been a Slytherin when he was still at school. There is a difference.”

“No there’s not! Slytherins are evil, everybody knows that and so would you if you only listen to me. Listen, you’ll learn that some wizarding families are better than others. You don’t make friends with the wrong sort.”

“So Draco is the wrong sort?”

“Yes! That’s what I’ve been telling you. So Malfoy take your stupid friends and leave.”

Draco was hurt, it seemed as if Harry was already friends with Weasley and he now believes everything the red head told him. As he was turning, he saw Harry grab his trunk and dragging it towards the door.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Harry sighed. “Well Ron, I may not know a whole lot about the wizarding world, but I am able to tell the wrong sort for myself. Since you ordered Draco and his friends to leave, I believe that is what we will be doing.”

With that Harry left the compartment with Draco, leaving a sputtering Weasley behind. He was a fool the first time, believing everything he heard and letting himself be influenced against his better judgement. It’s not to say Draco had been completely innocent during their very first encounter, but Harry’s reaction contributed to Draco’s little meltdown. The sooner people learned the truth, the better. If there was one thing Harry learned it was that it was not whether it the spell cast was dark or light, but the intent behind the spell which defined it as good or evil.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful and Harry spent the time to get to know Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. Not one of the three boys tried to convince him Slytherin was the best, even though they all hoped to end up there, since it was tradition that their families ended up in Slytherin. Both Crabbe and Goyle were just happy to have received letters, inviting them to attend Hogwarts and plainly stated that even though they hoped for Slytherin, they would even settle for Hufflepuff.

Time really flew now that Harry was having fun and soon after they were dressed in their uniforms a voice echoed through the train. “We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes’ time. Please leave your luggage aboard the train, it will be taken to the school separately.”

Harry was really excited. This time he will not be sorted into the wrong house. Gryffindor had been good to him, but he never really felt at home with the lions. Neville and the twins were the only ones who never treated him differently. The other Gryffindors treated him like the flavor of the day. He could still clearly remember the isolation during his second year when everybody believed he was the heir of Slytherin. Only Neville and the twins treated him the same as always. It did not bother him in the least that the twins made a big joke out of his sudden infamy, because they never believed he was evil. Even the friendship between himself and his supposed best friends were different, especially after they learned he was a parselmouth. What kind of person tells their supposed best friend that he should keep his gift quiet, because being a parselmouth was a sign of being evil? They were just as small minded as those stupid muggles who told people who were left handed they were evil.

Hagrid quickly separated the first years from the other students. Leading them down to the boats. Harry had forgotten how dark the path was. How steep and slippery it was. The only light came from the lantern Hagrid was carrying. Merlin, if this had been a muggle school, Hogwarts would have been sued by angry parents a long time ago. They all stumbled and slipped down the path and Harry once again wished he would not end up face first in the dirt.

When he slipped for the fourth time only to be rescued by either Crabbe or Goyle for the fourth time, Harry grunted in frustration. “One would think they would make sure the path was actually well lit and safe.”

Draco snorted. “Sorry Harry. I completely forgot. My father warned me about this death trap and charmed my shoes to be non-slippery with extra traction. Only horrible parents or muggleborn children do not know about the path. Greg, Vince make sure Harry does not slip and fall. I would hate it if Harry has to spend his first night at Hogwarts in the infirmary.”

Hagrid called from the front telling everybody they were about to see their very first sight of Hogwarts, it was right around the bend.

“Yes, because sightseeing is the very first thing I want to do after nearly breaking my neck following a demented adult down a dark and dangerous path. Who decided on the scenic route anyway?”

“My father told me Dumbledore decided that first years should be ferried across the black lake. Something about the thrill of it, seeing Hogwarts all lit up in the darkness while crossing the lake or some rot.”

“Bloody hell, is he demented? I for one want to be alive and preferably conscious when I get to the school. What is his plan? To cull the numbers? Weed out the weak from the strong? Is this a school or part of the animal kingdom? You know – survival of the fittest.”

Draco snorted. Each year his father petitioned that if Dumbledore insists on ferrying the children across the lake, they should at least make sure the path to the boats were well lit and safe, but each year Dumbledore and his cronies overrules them.

“My father always complains about the same thing, he called the path a death trap. But according to Dumbledore it is fun and the children enjoys it.”

“I can just hear how much fun everyone is having.”

Just then they heard a scream and the thud of a body hitting the ground. At least they reached their destination as the narrow path suddenly opened up and they found them at the edge of the vast black lake. On the opposite side, perched atop of a steep mountain, was Hogwarts. The sight of the school still took Harry’s breath away. Even though he never felt at home with the Gryffindors, he felt at home in the castle. It had been his very first home.

“No more than four to a boat!” Hagrid called and started directing the children to the waiting boats.

Harry, Draco, Vincent and Gregory quickly found a boat and settled in. He quickly found Weasley. It seems Weasley was the one who tripped and face planted in the dirt, as his clothes were now dirty, even more rumpled and he sported more than just the initial smudge of dirt on his nose. Hagrid had a boat to himself and Harry could hear the poor abused boat groan under Hagrid’s weight.

“Everybody in? All right…FORWARD!” 

Hagrid’s final yell set the boats in motion and soon the little boats started gliding across the lake. Not even one whisper was heard as every last student stared at the castle, looming over them. Soon they would reach the castle and they would officially be students at Hogwarts.


	4. The Sorting Hat Revisited:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments & kudos. I cannot wait for winter, then at least it won't feel like my brain is melting.
> 
> English is not my first language - so please excuse any spelling and/or grammatical errors.

Hagrid led the first years up a staircase. He stopped at the top, calling down to them. “Everybody here? Whose toad is this?” 

Neville gave a happy shout, running to collect Trevor. It still seemed a bit dodgy to Harry. Somebody made sure that Trevor went missing, knowing full well Neville would be frantic and search the train for his pet. Just the ideal opportunity to allow Granger to meet Harry Potter, seemingly performing a good deed.

The Hermione Granger Harry knew, would never offer her help. Granger liked to let everybody know she was better than them in every possible way. Granger would have enjoyed the opportunity to preach to Neville, telling him off for losing his pet. She was a bossy little know it all who would one day ruin the magical world. Destroying everything in her path, just to prove a point. And he was going to do everything in his power to try and save the magical world. It seemed to Harry that it was muggleborns like Granger which only proved Voldemort’s point.

Minerva McGonagall exited and Hagrid redundantly told the witch “The first years Professor.’ Well, who else would they have been? Muggle children on a school tour, visiting seemingly ruins in the middle of the night?

“Thank you Hagrid. I will take it from here.”

McGonagall led the group of first years across the stone floor. They could all hear the voices of the rest of the student body rising and falling from behind large wooden doors on their right. The room Harry knew to be the Great Hall. With Dumbledore sitting in the middle of the teacher’s table, on his throne-like chair. The so-called greatest wizard alive, the benevolent Headmaster, who cared for the well-being of every last child in the castle. She herded them into a small empty chamber. 

Harry studied the rest of the first years. They looked absolutely terrified. Nearly every last one of them wondering what was about to happen to them. The only exception being Harry, but only since he remembers what was about to happen.

McGonagall cleared her throat. “Welcome to Hogwarts. The start of term feast, better known as the welcoming feast will start shortly. But before you are allowed to take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your respective houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony. It is not something to be trifled with. The Sorting will place you in the house best suited to you and until you leave school, your house will be your family. You will have classes with the remainders of your house, eat your meals together, study together and spend your free time together in your house common room. You will make true friends from within your house and those friendships will last a lifetime.”

Harry hide to hide his sneer. No wonder the different houses never got along. Merlin, the moment they set foot in the castle, the very first thing shoved down their throats were the house system. Her little speech encouraged and enforced students to mix exclusively with members of their own house, that the house will be their home and your fellow house mates your family. Remembering the Patil twins, Harry could not help but wonder how many families had been ripped apart by this stupid house rivalry. How many had been willing to discard their own brothers or sister, just because they were sorted into different houses? Come to think of it, most couples were from the same houses. His parents were both Gryffindor, as is Molly and Arthur Weasley. Granger and Ron Weasley ended up together, they tried to shove Ginny (yet another Gryffindor) down his throat.

McGonagall continued with her little speech, “The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and of course Slytherin.”

Harry detected a little inflection when she said Slytherin, as if she was forced to talk about something extremely nasty, his Aunt Petunia voice sounded exactly the same when she talked about him. McGonagall droned on and on about the noble history of the four houses, how each delivered many a great witch and wizard, although he could hear the doubt in her voice that Slytherin managed to deliver even one mediocre let alone great witches and wizards. She went on to explain the points system, stressing the fact that triumphs will earn your house points, while rule breaking will result in a loss of points. Somehow he almost always gained points for his rule breaking, it seemed the more horrible or stupid the stunt, the higher the gain of points. No wonder Severus hated everything about Gryffindor.

McGonagall warned them that she would return once they were ready for them in the Great Hall, suggesting that they sort themselves out and at least try and be a bit presentable. Her eyes lingered on Neville, whose cloak was fastened crookedly and on Weasley, who besides the original dirty smudge on his nose, was now a bit dusty and rumpled. Harry left his hair as it was, there’s nothing to do about the rat’s nest on top of his head. 

Harry nudged Draco, “So how do you think they are going to sort us?”

Draco shrugged, “I’m not really sure. I asked my father, but he just told me I would have to wait and see. The only thing I do know is that it’s not painful or dangerous.”

Weasley still smarting for the fact that Harry Potter, hero of the wizarding world, left him hanging in favour of a Malfoy piped up: “My brothers told me it was really difficult, Fred told me it hurts a lot and George said something about wrestling trolls.”

Harry had to suppress the urge to either laugh in Weasley’s face or punch him in the face. What happened to that eleven year old who was so happy to learn he was a wizard? Who vowed that since he was now free he could and would study hard? He turned into Dudley, instead of working hard, studying for his tests and exams and handing in proper homework, since Dudley was no longer lurking in the shadows to destroy his work he did the exact opposite. This time it would be different.

Granger was freaking the kids around her out with her frantic whispering about the number of spells she memorized and wondering which hex or jinx would be the best one to use. At least he now knew the truth. He could understand why parents would not tell their children about the Sorting Hat, it was meant to be a bit of fun. It was also heaps of fun for older siblings who happened to be cursed with a brother or sister like Weasley. He understood why Fred and George told Weasley that it was going to hurt and they had to wrestle a troll, it was fun and easy to mess with his peanut brain and besides, it also happened to be a little bit of payback for all the times Weasley got the twins into trouble.

At least this time Harry had not been quietly freaking out that he might just fail the test and be sent back to the Dursleys. By the time the ghosts appeared Granger was chewing on her nails, still muttering to herself. Weasley looked rather sick and ready to faint, the mere thought of him wrestling a troll or maybe it was just the pain, Weasley never could handle any discomfort, too much of a mama’s boy. Neville had the air of a condemned man around him, maybe because he was so used to be either disappointed or being a disappointment, it became second nature to him to expect the worst. Pansy seemingly accepted her doom with the poise of a pureblood, which she was. She was calmly inspecting her nails and checking her hair, if she was to die, she would die looking flawlessly polished.

A few girls and one boy, Harry wondered if it was Weasley, started screaming. Harry realized the ghosts must have made their appearance. Since he was not supposed to know about the ghosts, Harry turned around and forced himself to gasp in shock. As always the ghosts were locked in an argument and the reason for their argument was as always Peeves. Peeves the poltergeist, who tormented and terrorized the students year in and year out, granted he had his moments, but those moments were few and far between.

Harry could tolerate a few of the ghosts in the castle, but Peeves had no purpose or need to be at Hogwarts. Peeves made it his, pardon the pun, life’s work to bully the children and Dumbledore let the poltergeist stay. Then again Dumbledore claimed the actions of the Marauders had been nothing more than harmless pranks. Just schoolboys having fun. Funny how the old fool called Tom Riddle, later to be known as Voldemort, a murderer and evil when he plotted the murder of Myrtle Warren, but did not bat an eye when the Marauders did exactly the same to Severus Snape. The fact that Tom Riddle succeeded, whilst the Marauders failed and only because James Potter decided to save Severus, should have no bearing on the fact. But then the difference was that Tom Riddle was nothing but a Slytherin and the Marauders Gryffindors.

The Fat Friar, true to his old house even in death, pleaded Peeves’ case, “I say, forgive and forget. Every ghost deserves a second chance.”

Nearly-headless Nick, still a bit of a pompous arsehole, head flopping a bit on his neck, fingering the ruff around his neck a bit, complained “Have we not given Peeves every chance available? Besides, it is not as if he is a ghost.”

Sir Nicholas noticed the first years, staring at the ghosts with eyes wide and mouths nervously opening and closing, “I say, what are you doing here?” The ghost still tried to sound like the proud Gryffindor he used to be, never mind that he got sloppy in his final years and the muggles finally caught on, resulting in his botched beheading.

Not one of the students answered the ghost. Sometimes Harry wondered whether Gryffindor was not the house of the brave, but more like the house of the oblivious. One would think he got used to the arrival of the first year students, promptly on the 1st of September.

The Fat Friar gave Sir Nicholas a rather condescending smile before saying, “Well, I suppose it’s the first years about to be sorted.”

Harry recognized the look on the Fat Friar’s face, it was one that said, “Yes, we all know he is an idiot, but he is our idiot.”

The ghost of Hufflepuff gave the frightened students an encouraging smile before saying cheerfully, “Well I do hope to see some of you in Hufflepuff. My old house you know.”

Harry always like the Hufflepuff ghost and imagine that even in life the man was a quite cheerful fellow, always ready with either a laugh or a comforting shoulder to cry on.

McGonagall returned, her lips pursed into a very thin sneer. If she was a basilisk and the ghosts were not already dead, she would have killed the ghosts with her look alone. “Move along now. The Sorting Ceremony is about to start.” Her tone was sharp and harsh.

One by one the ghosts floated from the room, with only Sir Nicholas greeting the bitter old woman on his way out. It was not the first time Harry wondered how he missed all these little things about people the first time. Did he purposefully ignore all the little signs, because he had been too happy to have found a friend, wanting to conform and be whatever Dumbledore and his followers wanted? Regretfully he had to admit to himself he had. Dumbledore made sure that Harry’s home life was one filled with misery, making him pliant for his little suggestions, turning him into the perfect little Gryffindor along the way, because it had been expected of him.

With McGonagall ordering them to form a line and follow her, the group of first years walked, as if to their doom. She led them through the large wooden doors and into the Great Hall. Even after all these years, the Great Hall was a sight to behold. The myriad of floating candles, lighting the magnificent room. The charmed ceiling, reflecting the sky on the outside. The four long tables, filled with students, empty golden plates and goblets glittering in the candlelight. The seated students waiting for the sorting to finish, so that they could get to the very serious business of eating. At the very top of the hall was the teacher’s table. Dumbledore’s golden chair seemed almost like a throne, but the man always had an ego the size of Jupiter, believing himself to be the most powerful wizard in all of history. Some could argue he believed himself to be even more powerful than Merlin himself. But why would he not try and perpetuate that false little rumor? It must have irked the man something fierce that Merlin was not a Gryffindor, but a Slytherin.

As McGonagall led them to the front of the Great Hall, Harry could not help but seek out Severus. Some could argue Severus Snape were only able to articulate three facial expressions: disdain, anger and boredom. Quirrell was sitting next to Severus, stuttering at Severus, seemingly trying to get the dour man engaged in conversation. At present Severus’ facial expressions flickered between bored and utter loathing. Not for the first time Harry wondered how Voldemort managed to hide at the back of Quirrell’s head without Dumbledore suspecting a thing. 

Harry nearly missed Granger’s frantic whispering how she read in Hogwarts: A History that the ceiling had been charmed to reflect the sky on the outside. It was no wonder nobody really cared for the girl, always quoting Hogwarts: A History, always shoving her beliefs down everybody else’s throats, believing she knows best. Her grating voice when she tells somebody they are doing it all wrong.

Luna once told him that she only tolerated Granger for his sake, she never could stand her, not that Granger had that many female friends to start with. Fleur barely tolerated her for her husband’s sake. Luna could not stand her. Hanna detested Granger. During their school years the only girl in Gryffindor who tolerated Granger had been the Ginny Weasley, but it was not as if Ginny was such a prize herself.

Draco snorted next to Harry, “I’m telling you now, if that one gets sorted into Slytherin, I’d rather choose Hufflepuff.”

“Don’t worry, my guess is, she’ll end up in Gryffindor. Didn’t you hear her on the train?”

Draco clearly wiped the mere thought of Granger from his memories, as he slowly remembered how she gushed about Gryffindor and Dumbledore.

McGonagall came back and placed a four-legged stool in the middle, on top of it came the old, patched and tatty Sorting Hat. Harry remembered how he thought Aunt Petunia would not allow the Sorting Hat in her house. Harry understood that with the Sorting Hat being extremely old, it would be frayed and patched in places, but could nobody be bothered to wash the old thing once in a while? Year after year being shoved on the heads of countless students, before being shoved away, forgotten.

Harry gave a silent laugh as he remembered thinking they were supposed to perform some kind of magic trick, like pulling a rabbit from the hat. Oh, how young and gullible he had been.

The Sorting Hat finished his yearly song, and the loud applause and cheers from the students in front of them announced the real start of the sorting. Harry could see the relief shining in the eyes of the first years, Weasley being the most relieved since he believed they were going to have to do something stupid or dangerous, like wrestling a troll and disappointed in Granger’s eyes, as she hoped to impress everybody with her knowledge of spells and jinxes.

McGonagall once again stepped forward, producing a rolled up scroll. “Now,” she said sternly, “when I call your name, you will step forward and sit on the stool. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be sorted. Abbott, Hannah!”

The future Mrs Longbottom stepped forward, slightly blushed with her two blonde pigtails swinging as she walked. She sat down, her face slightly scrunched in fear as the hat disappeared over her face. A moment later, the Sorting Hat’s mouth opened and he announced loudly “HUFFLEPUFF”. Harry clapped loudly for the girl who was to become one of his dearest friends.

As McGonagall continued with the sorting Harry studied the four tables and thus the four houses. Every house had its own merits, but somehow over the years only Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw retained their original identities. But somehow Gryffindor was elevated to the house of heroes. Dumbledore made it seem as if only Gryffindors were allowed to be brave and chivalrous, forgetting the fact that there was a fine line between brave and being foolhardy. Gryffindors were the type of heroes that got everybody else killed.

And Slytherin, it was demoted to the house of evil. Being cunning was not evil. Being ambitious was not evil. Every year the Sorting Hat hinted at the true history and meaning of Hogwarts and the different houses, but each year the message was forgotten and discarded. Harry most certainly did not listen to the Sorting Hat telling him that he will find true friends in Slytherin. Instead he let himself be blinded and forced himself into Gryffindor. A house where he never really felt welcome or accepted.

He barely followed the sorting but noted the sorting of Granger, who went to Gryffindor, emulating her personal hero, Albus Dumbledore. The girl would have set herself on fire if Dumbledore told her it was for the greater good. Seeing Neville run off to Gryffindor with the Sorting Hat still on his head made Harry laugh. Merlin, he forgot how nervous and clumsy his friend used to be. The look McGonagall shot the poor boy, chilled Harry’s blood. It was one of utter disgust. Maybe like Granger and Weasley, she could never understand why Neville was sorted into Gryffindor, but Harry knew. Neville was everything that a Gryffindor was supposed to be, heroic without being brash and chivalrous without being condescending. Draco was sorted in about a millisecond, but then he always knew he was going to be Slytherin. Still Harry waited, soon it would be his turn again. Soon the smelly dirty old hat would be placed on his head again and this time he was not going to fight the Hat, this time he was going to the house he was supposed to be in.

A hush fell over the room when McGonagall called “Potter, Harry”. As Harry stepped forward and started walking towards the stool, he could see the pointing fingers and the not so subtle whispers.

“Harry Potter?”

“The Harry Potter?”

“Is that Harry Potter?”

“Can you see the scar?”

“They say…lightning bolt scar…forehead.”

Harry ignored the pointing fingers and the obnoxious whispering. He made peace with his name. It did not mean he liked it any better, nor did he care for the staring and the remarks and the rumors and the whole persona, he hated the brand “Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived”, but he made peace with it. To prevent the horrible future, he must embrace the brand, ignore Dumbledore’s little adventures and become the hero the wizarding world needs. But afterwards? After he saved them from their complacency and basically from themselves? Then he is done saving them, the brand will retire and only Harry Potter will remain, living his life as he pleases. He may not be too sure right now what he wants to be someday, well except alive. But whatever profession he follows it will be because he wants to do it, not because he feels compelled to do it.

McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on Harry’s head, which promptly fell down over his ears, nearly swallowing his whole head. The last thing Harry saw was once again all the children staring at him as if he was a monkey in the zoo.

“Hm, now what do we have here? Difficult. Very difficult. You have plenty of courage. You don’t have a bad mind, eager to learn. A thirst to prove yourself. There is talent there, but where to put you? Why does your mind seem familiar Harry Potter?”

The hat’s question rattled Harry for a moment, before he decided on an answer.

“I don’t know. Maybe because you’ve met millions of people and we all seem alike after a while?”

That hat gave a little snort.

‘Aren’t you the feisty one? Well Harry it seems like you will fit into two houses. But which one? One will fit you like a glove. It is the house you were born to be in. The other house, you will make that one work. I have heard about you Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. We all expect great things from you Mister Potter.”

The conversation differed greatly from the first time, but then again the first time Harry was adamant of not being sorted into Slytherin. The hat tried to tell Harry something that time. But he was so against Slytherin and won over to become a Gryffindor. Anybody would have fallen into that little trap.

He lived ten years in total isolation, being mistreated and abused by his family, not knowing the truth about himself. The very first wizard he meets, gushes about the greatness of Dumbledore and Gryffindor, how proud his parents would be of him and how his parents were murdered by an evil wizard, how evil Slytherin was and that every evil witch and wizard came from Slytherin. Afterwards he met one Gryffindor after the other, telling him exactly the same thing, making sure he would never even consider any other house than Gryffindor.

“Mr Potter, I’ve come to a decision. I have been instructed to mention Gryffindor to you, but have decided to mention the virtues of your true house to you. I was afraid that those planted by the Headmaster would have gain access to you and poison your mind. It seems that my fear was all for nothing. The house you will be sorted into will allow you to gain true friends, protect you through all the difficulties you will face and nurture you in becoming the very best you can be. My decision is SLYTHERIN!”

Harry removed the Sorting Hat from his head, ready to join Draco at Slytherin table. Unlike the first time, his sorting did not produce the mass hysteria. No whooping and hollering. Nobody yelling “We got Potter!”. The silence was deafening. McGonagall’s lips nearly disappeared, making the woman rather seem like a snake.

McGonagall gave Harry a rather hard push towards the Slytherin table. “Well off you go Potter. We do have a sorting to finish.”

Marcus Flint suddenly jumped up gave a loud whistle and started clapping his hands, shouting “We got Potter!” The rest of the house followed their Quidditch captain’s lead, making sure to welcome Harry Potter to their ranks. Draco beckoned Harry to his side, having made room for his friend.

“I’m so happy you’re also in Slytherin. I thought for sure you would end up in Gryffindor, since your parents were Gryffindors.”

“Does family members always end up in the same house?”

“Not always, sometimes siblings end up in different houses. But that only happens when their parents were in different houses. It is very rare for the child of same house parents to end up in a different house.”

Theodore Nott muttered, “Especially when the child’s parents were Gryffindor and he ends up in Slytherin.”

Harry swallowed. He could only remember one other child who was sorted into a different house than his whole family – Sirius Black, his Gryffindor godfather.

“Will it matter to you? That my parents were Gryffindors? It is not as if I can remember them.”

One of the prefects heard the question. It was best to set the boy’s mind at ease.

“No, it won’t matter. But Professor Snape will explain everything a bit later.”

Harry glanced at the head table. Quirrell seemed a bit dazed, Harry did not think Voldemort or his meat puppet expected Harry Potter to be sorted into Slytherin. Hagrid scowled at Harry. It was clear the man was dumbfounded. He did everything Dumbledore asked of him and somehow he failed. Dumbledore was seething, he tried to hide his anger behind his normal dottering old fool mask, but Harry could see that the lemon drop sucking walking fashion disaster was livid.

The last three students were sorted, Lisa Turpin was quickly sorted into Ravenclaw. Weasley broke the record as the fastest sort, one second, before the Sorting Hat shouted “Gryffindor” and Blaise Zabini joined them at Slytherin.

McGonagall rolled up her scroll and removed the stool and the Sorting Hat. Harry could not wait for the feast to end. He was tired and getting rather annoyed at the stares from the other students. 

Dumbledore jumped up and spread out his arms, a rather fake grin plastered on his face. 

“Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, I would like to speak a few words. And here they are. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” he paused, his blue eyes twinkling, “Thank you.”

The students started clapping and cheering, with Gryffindor showing the most appreciation at the mad old wizard. Dumbledore plopped himself down on his golden throne, gazing fondly at the students, bypassing Slytherin table completely. Harry still did not know whether he should laugh or not.

Harry leaned over to Draco “Do you think he is mad?”

Well he already knew the answer, Albus Dumbledore was as crazy as a shithouse rat, but still he wanted to know what the Slytherins really thought about the old man. The fifth year prefect, Adrian Pucey answered.

“Dumbledore is crazy. Give the old man his dues, he is brilliant and some believe him to be the greatest wizard alive. I personally would not go as far to call him the greatest wizard alive, but never forget: Dumbledore is powerful, brilliant and quite unstable. He also does not care for Slytherins and heavily favour his old house, Gryffindor.”

Harry nodded, he knew exactly how much Dumbledore favored Gryffindor. Ignoring the bullying, allocating points when none should have been given, outright robbing the house cup at the very last moment to ensure Gryffindor came out on top, convincing students to break the law. And that was his redeeming qualities. Harry came to the realization that Albus Dumbledore was worse than Voldemort ever could have dreamed to be and unlike Voldemort, he never tarnished his reputation, he never even got his own damn hands dirty.

Harry helped himself to some of the dishes, quietly observing those around him. Not one of the Slytherins spoke with a mouth full of food. Nobody sprayed everybody else with bits and pieces of flying food. He always believed Crabbe and Goyle to have the table manners of a barnyard animal, but even they, whom everybody believed to be as dumb as rocks, displayed impeccable table manners. It was quite refreshing.

The ghosts reappeared and Harry shuddered when he heard Weasley loudly and rudely call out “I know who you are, my brothers told you all about you. You are Nearly Headless Nick!” The Bloody Baron ruefully shook his head the redheaded boy. Harry made a space next to him for the ghost of Slytherin. At first he, just like everybody else, feared the gruesome ghost, but nobody ever dared to try and learn the man’s history. Helena Ravenclaw may never forgive the Baron for her death, but Harry felt sorry for him.

“Good evening Sir. My name is Harry Potter. It is nice to meet you.” 

The Bloody Baron was quiet startled. He was not used to students talking to him. Everybody feared him and maybe with good reason, he was a harsh man with a fierce temper. His temper caused the death of the only woman he ever loved and for his crime he will be punished for eternity. Helena was right to remind him of his crime. She was right to remind him that he will never be forgiven, that he will never be allowed to peace.

“Pleased to meet you Mr Potter. If I may offer you a piece of advice. Please take care. There are forces at work at Hogwarts which may wish to harm you.”

“Thank you Sir. I know a bit about those who lied to me or tried to lie to me, but I will try my best to stay out of trouble.”

The Bloody Baron gave the small boy a nod. He will endeavor to protect the child. Too his shame he stood by as Tom Riddle was destroyed and yet he did nothing. He stood by as Severus Snape was nearly broken and did not do anything. This time, he will do right by this child and if his assistance to the young snake meant that he was damned for eternity for his actions, then so be it. But he will not allow the destruction of another young Slytherin. The Bloody Baron quietly left the room. He had to warn Peeves to stay away from the Slytherins and this little Slytherin in particular. Besides the children wanted to enjoy their meal and he knew his presence was quite unsettling at the dinner table.

Harry could not wait for the feast to end. It seemed like they have been eating for hours. Most of the tables were finished with their meals, waiting for desert to appear after which Dumbledore would make his usual announcements before they would be allowed to leave for the respective common rooms. Only at Gryffindor table students were still eating. Weasley was busy piling his plate high with his fourth helping and started shoveling the food into his maw.

Draco shuddered as he saw the look of horrified fascination on Harry’s face. The sight of Weasley feeding was nauseating to say the least. In his right hand he gripped his fork in something akin to a death grip, hastily shoveling more food down his gullet. In his left hand he currently gripped a chicken drumstick, waving both fork and drumstick around as he chatted with those around him.

At last the last of the food disappeared from the tables, the plates and the goblets once again sparkling clean. Moments later desserts appeared on the table. Harry selected a variety of fresh fruits, as did most of the Slytherins he noticed. Millicent Bulstrode quietly asked Harry “I know it is rude and you may have been asked this a lot…but can you remember anything about that night?”

None of the Slytherins gawked at his scar, not one wanted to see it or to touch it. Harry supposed Millicent’s question was innocent enough, a sort of morbid curiosity. He did get the impression that if he either claimed not to remember anything or decline to answer, none of the Slytherins would take offence at his answer.

“Well, not much really. I think I remember laughing and I definitely remember a green light. But that is it. What can one really remember at that age?”

This set a conversation regarding their earliest memories, which was a lot nicer than the Gryffindors finding out who was pureblood, half blood or muggleborn. It kind of ruined the idea that Slytherin was the house seemingly obsessed with blood purity. Not one of them volunteered to declare their blood status, maybe because the majority was pureblood, but it was still nice. One would have thought that blood purity and their hatred of muggles, muggleborn and half-bloods would be the only topics of conversation.

Harry wished dinner would end already. He forgot how long these feasts lasted, no wonder Severus had always been so cranky the next morning, since he was stuck teaching potions to a bunch of students who were tired and paying even less attention than normally. He took a peek at the teacher’s table. Hagrid was drinking from a large tankard and Harry would bet every last knut he owned that the contents were not pumpkin juice. Harry realized that Hagrid was well on his way to being drunk, after all the years he knew the half-giant he was quite familiar with the signs, Hagrid’s smile was getting bigger, while his eyes narrowed to mere slits, his nose were already as red as Santa’s famed reindeer and he seemingly laughed for no good reason.

Dumbledore and McGonagall were having a whispered conversation. By the way McGonagall’s lips were pursed into a slash and the lack of Dumbledore’s ever twinkling eyes, it was clear the topic of their conversation was Harry Potter. Their little puppet was now sorted into Slytherin and seemingly out of their reach. Ready to be corrupted by those evil little snakes. The next Dark Lord, ready to ruin the world. How long did Dumbledore plan everything? He certainly plotted ruling the world with Gellert Grindelwald, but seemingly turned back from the dark side. Did his plans start then? Knowing full well that he would one day imprison his one-time lover? But the fact remains, Albus Dumbledore was a very patient man. All those little plans and moves, nobody saw the danger until it was too late and Dumbledore ruled the wizarding world with Granger as his little puppet. How long before Dumbledore would have tried to destroy the muggle world? A muggle world who advanced in leaps and bounds, while the wizarding world was still stuck in the dark ages. Shield charms can stop almost every curse and hex, but it would be unable to stop a bullet. How long before the whole world, muggle and wizarding, was left rotting in ruins? With nobody but the cockroaches to reign supreme?

Quirrell was still trying to engage Severus in conversation. His stupid purple turban shaking as the man stuttered at Snape. The sneer on Snape’s face more deadly than the gaze of a basilisk. Not for the first time Harry wondered if it really was Voldemort riding piggyback on the back of Quirrel’s head? The face at the back of Quirrel’s head neither bore resemblance to the teenager Harry saw during this second year nor the thing Voldemort became after he was resurrected at the end of the TriWizard Tournament. It did not even resemble the memories Severus had of the man. Quirrell called the thing Master, he never identified it was Voldemort. The only person who named the parasite had been Dumbledore, he told Harry Voldemort possessed Quirrell and like the little fool he used to be, he believed the man.

At last the remains of dessert disappeared. A loud groan rose from the Gryffindor table. The guilty party Ron Weasley, who attacked food like a starving, rabid dog. With a frown Harry realized that for years he laughed at the eating habits of Crabbe and Goyle, without realizing the student with the worst table manners had been sitting right next to him. Dumbledore got to his feet and the students fell silent, waiting with baited breath for the pearls of wisdom coming from the lying mouth of Albus Dumbledore.

“Just a few more words, now that we are all watered and fed. I have a few start of term notices.  
First years should take note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. I dare say that a few of our older students would do well to remember this as well.  
I have been asked by Mr Filch, our caretaker, to remind everybody that no magic may be used between classes in the corridors.  
Quidditch trials will be held during the second week of the term. Those who wishes to represent their house teams, should call Madam Hooch.  
Finally, this year the third floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to anybody who does not wish to die a very painful death.”

“Is he serious?”

Adrian shook his head, “Must be, but usually he gives a reason why something should not be done. But to basically threaten students with death? I’m sure Professor Snape will elaborate a little bit later.”

With a manic grin plastered on his face, Dumbledore cheerfully announced that the school song will be sung. The teachers’ smiles became fixed on their faces, except Severus, his sneer only became more pronounced. Not even the Slytherins looked overly impressed with the school song, but Harry would have been the first to admit, that the school song was a horrible tasteless joke. It was not really the type of song one would associate with a school of Hogwarts’ standing, but given the fact that Dumbledore was nothing but a demented clown, employing ghosts (Binns), frauds (Lockhart), drunkards (Hagrid) and drunken frauds (Trelawney) one could argue that the school song was most fitting.

The Weasley twins ended dead last with their rendition delivered in a slow and torturous funeral march. Dumbledore conducted the last few lines with his wand and when they were at last finished, he was the only one to cheer.

Wiping the tears from his eyes he waved the students off with a final “Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here. Off to bed with you.”

The Great Hall emptied as students trudged off to their common rooms. Harry already knew the route down to the Slytherin dorms, since he infiltrated their common room in his second year, but pretended to take note where they are going. Deeper and deeper they went into the castle, the air growing cooler. Neither portrait nor tapestry adorned the walls, the corridors free of even stone gargoyles and suits of armour. It was as if everybody wants to forget that Slytherin even exist. At least with the absence of portraits, it meant that Dumbledore could not spy on Harry as much as in the rest of the school. Finally they stopped at what seemed to be a dead-end. Adrian Pucey muttered something and the stone shifted, exposing the passageway that led to the Slytherin common room.

The first time Harry saw the Slytherin common room, he was unable to show appreciation for the room, since Weasley would not have approved. But Harry always loved the Slytherin common room. The walls and ceiling were rough stone and from the ceiling hung round greenish lamps suspended by chains. A fire was already crackling under a beautifully carved mantelpiece, warming the room without making it stuffy. The room was filled with low backed black and dark green leather sofas, dark wooden cupboards. Tapestries featuring the adventures of medieval Slytherins adorned the walls.

Harry just opened his mouth to ask about their dorms, when Professor Snape entered the common room. Severus did not have long to wait before the students settled down, waiting to hear from the dour Potions Master. His eyes rested on the nervous first years, he recognized the offspring of Lucius Malfoy. The child was the carbon copy of his father. Next to him stood the greatest surprise sorting this year. Harry Potter. The son of Lily Evans, who used to be his best friend, and James Potter, the arrogant bastard that made his life a living hell. 

“Welcome to Slytherin. As you may have heard, this will be your home for the next seven years. You may have also heard the false rumours that Slytherins are evil and being raised for Azkaban. Let me assure you, being a Slytherin does not make you evil. We are cunning. We are ambitious. We are smart. In Slytherin you will make true friends, friends who will never abandon you, friends who will stay true through thick and thin. I’m not going to lie to you, our house is not well liked and is distrusted by most of the wizarding word. Just remember to hold your heads high. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being proud of who you are, of being cunning, ambitions and smart.  
My rules are simple. Rule 1: Slytherins will settle any differences between themselves in-house. Outside of the common room, you will present a united front. You will cast your personal feelings aside and support your fellow Slytherin on the outside of this common room.  
Rule 2: I will not tolerate any of my Slytherins handing in shoddy and poorly researched assignments. The professors will give you ample time to complete their homework, do not procrastinate and try and complete homework the night before an assignment is due.  
Rule 3: Each night, right after dinner, up until eight o’clock is earmarked for your studies. It is not a suggestion. The cupboards are filled with a variety of research material, to be used and not abused.  
Rule 4: The house elves are not at your beck and call. You will not leave your dorms or the common room looking like a pigsty. If you want to live like a pig, I will arrange with your parents to remove you from Hogwarts and deposit you on a farm.  
Rule 5: The Slytherin dungeons are for Slytherins exclusively. I will not forbid you to make friends from other houses, but you are forbidden to bring them here.  
Rule 6: The password will change every two weeks. The new password will be posted on the notice board. This password will not be shared with anybody outside of Slytherin, nor mentioned anywhere else but in the common room, your dorm rooms or when spoken to gain entry to the common room. The password for the next two weeks is ‘Respect and Honour’.  
Rule 7: I do not like taking points from my own house and will only under the most extreme circumstances deduct points or assign detentions in public. As with rule 1, I will handle any punishments in house. Break any of my rules or Hogwarts rules, make no mistake, I will deduct points and assign detentions.”

And everybody always thought Severus Snape never punished his own house. Then again, nobody was as blind like those who refused to see. Thus far Harry was very impressed with Severus Snape. Unlike McGonagall he laid down rules and regulations. Everybody knew exactly what was expected of them and what will or will not be tolerated. 

Severus took time to welcome the returning students, discussing his office hours and handing out class schedules to everybody and maps of Hogwarts for the first years. 

Afterwards, he bid them a good night and left the students alone, after warning them that even though it was only Saturday evening, they should not stay up too late. He would hate to come back and start deducting points before term started.

Adrian Pucey led the first years boys to their dorm rooms, which were located behind the door on the right side of the common room. The corridor was lit with the same lamps as those in the common room. There were eight closed doors, on both sides of the corridor. At the end of the corridor was what appeared to be another set of stairs, since Harry could see the older students disappearing in the darkness.

“There is seven levels. First years on the first level, second years on the second level and so forth.”

The first door on the left side had a bronze plaque, with the names Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. The two boys entered their room. One room after the other was assigned, until only Harry and Draco remained. Their room was the last one on the right, next to the stairs. Harry entered the room, used to six years in Gryffindor, sharing the room four other boys.

It was a normal square room, clearly divided into two halves. Draco’s trunk was in front of the bed to the left, leaving the bed to the right to Harry. The two halves were mirror images of each other, each containing a luxurious four poster beds, the same as those in Gryffindor, only with green coverings instead of the red. Against the wall was a cupboard, desk and chair and in the corners, two small wood burning stoves, warming the room. Harry smiled at the cupboard and desk. It seems Slytherin takes studying and homework easy, as there was only two children per room and their rooms contained a desk each to study at. A door in the middle of the two beds opened to a small private bathroom, containing a shower, toilet and washbasin. So much better than the communal bathrooms at Gryffindor.

Draco yawned, “I’m so tired. Let’s leave the unpacking till morning. Mind if I use the bathroom first?”

Harry waited patiently until Draco finished, getting his towel and cleaning supplies ready. He wrapped his old sleepwear, actually just a pair of old boxers and a t-shirt of Dudley’s, in his towel. He was ashamed of his tatty old clothes, but if his plans do work out, he would be able to escape the Dursleys forever and purchase decent clothing.

Draco was already in bed and snoring lightly when Harry slipped from the bathroom. He forgot about the house elves and cleaned the bathroom behind him, besides Sev… Professor Snape told them that the house elves were not their servants and that they should clean behind themselves.

With a soft contented sigh, Harry slipped beneath the covers on his bed. It was so quiet in the Slytherin dorms. Gone was Neville’s loud snoring. The giggling coming from Seamus and Dean’s beds as they chatted late into the night. Sometimes they managed to carry on talking even in their sleep. He was not going to miss Weasley’s snoring, sleep talking and farting. Harry sometimes wondered if Weasley’s farts were potent enough to strip paint from walls.

Harry’s eyes grew heavier and his yawns longer and deeper, until he too was fast asleep. If he dreamt, he could not remember it. At least this time his first night at Hogwarts was not one filled with horrible nightmares.

Dumbledore was pacing up and down in his office. Hagrid sat trembling in his chair, even McGonagall was frightened of the old man. The last time he was this angry was when the Potters declined to use him as Secret Keeper. Not that it mattered in the end, but still, they dared to oppose him and refused his assistance.

“Hagrid, are you absolutely sure you did everything I told you to do?”

“Yes Headmaster. I went to the island like you told me. I was friendly to the boy and made sure to treat his muggle relatives badly. I even gave the son a tail, a nice pink curly pig’s tail. Boy’s fat enough to be a pig in any case. I took Potter shopping, just like you told me. I made sure to mention that only evil wizards came from Slytherin, just like you told me. I made sure to mention that the wizard who killed his parents was a Slytherin. I told Potter over and over how wonderful Gryffindor is, that both his parents came from Gryffindor and that you are the mos’ wonderful and powerful wizard in history. I even bought the boy an owl, jus’ like you told me. I made sure to mention the important Hogwarts business at Gringotts. I was friendly with the little brat, just like you told me to be.”

McGonagall shook her head. “Albus, isn’t there something we can do? Surely we can bend the rules and get him resorted into Gryffindor?”

“If only I could, forcing an unsanctioned resorting would be a sure fire way to turn the worlds’ attention on us. Especially if those Slytherins start running to the Daily Prophet and getting those vultures involved. Besides Malfoy is one of the school Governors and you can bet that his spawn will write his father and complain if we dare to resort the boy. But I could approach two of my most trusted allies on the Board of Governors, ordering them to request a resort. The only thing is, it would take almost a month before they can push it through. So until then, we will just have to be patient. Soon the Potter oddity will be back in our grasp. The hero of the wizarding world cannot come from Slytherin.”


	5. Pride and Honour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy.

Harry rose the next morning, refreshed and content. Unlike the first time, he did not suffer nightmares and broken sleep. The dungeons felt like home. Unlike at Gryffindor tower, the house was calm and collected. Everybody granted their housemates a little common courtesy by not yelling and running up and down. He took a shower, before he started unpacking his belongings. The rags the Dursleys always dressed him were left in the trunk and he only unpacked his school clothes, soon he would be able to replace the oversized, abused tatters with decent clothing. Harry took pride in the books he bought and made sure to sort them first by subject and then alphabetically.

With a small smile Harry noticed the school schedule stuck on the wall above his desk. Unlike McGonagall, it seemed as if Professor Snape made sure to distribute class schedules beforehand, giving his snakes time to familiarize themselves with their schedule and even prepare for classes. He never asked Luna or Hannah, he just accepted the way Minerva McGonagall ran her house had to be the norm.

By seven Harry had already read the first chapter of his Transfiguration handbook, making notes on a piece of parchment. It helped that he already experienced this before, but his first year at Hogwarts had been a long time ago and he promised himself that unlike his first time around, he would actually pay attention to his schoolwork. 

It did not mean he would ignore the danger the Philosopher’s Stone posed, nor the thing on the back of Quirrel’s head, it just meant he would start to enjoy his second chance at childhood and happiness. His second chance at happiness start with Severus Snape, the sooner he approach his stern Potions professor the better. But what to tell the man? He could hardly confess that the time turner he used somehow messed up and deposited him back into his eleven year old body now could he? The man would believe him quite mad and that would only earn him a one way ticket to the Pius Thicknesse Ward at St Mungo’s. And he had better things to do than listen to calm music, eating soft foods and being spoken to as if he was a lost puppy.

Draco rose with a mighty yawn, which sounded more like a wounded dragon, than an eleven year old boy waking up. Still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he saw his new, maybe best, friend already up and dressed.

“Merlin’s hairy balls Harry...how long have you been awake?”

Harry snickered at the mental image of Merlin’s hairy balls, it was good to see that even Slytherins abused the name of Merlin. It certainly made them more human, when did the vilification of Slytherins start? Had Salazar Slytherin really been this muggle hating monster or had he just been a victim of verbal abuse and slander? Maybe Albus Dumbledore had been the one to start the rot, the one to paint Salazar Slytherin and his house with the evil paint brush.

“I think five? Do you need help unpacking?”

“Oh no… you are a morning person aren’t you?”

“Not really. I’m just used to it. I’ve been woken at five in the morning for so long, it is kind of habit.”

“Who wakes a child at five in the morning? Wait…is it normal muggle behavior?”

Harry sadly shook his head. 

“Nope, just normal Dursley behavior. My cousin was allowed to sleep until he decides to get his butt out of bed, except on a school morning. But my Aunt and Uncle, they always woke me up early.”

“Why?”

Harry took a big breath. It is time to tell somebody about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his muggle relatives, abuse he was now sure Albus bloody Dumbledore knew all about, approved it, condoned it and maybe even encouraged it. And unlike Weasley and Granger, Draco Malfoy would do something about it. But he still had to make it seem as if he thought there was nothing wrong with the way they treated him. Merlin knows, he believed that pile of steaming dragon dung for more than half of his life.

“My Uncle Vernon always told me that I should be grateful that they took me in and provided me with a home and a place to sleep. So I had to earn my keep, didn’t I?”

Draco paled, he may know next to nothing about the muggle world or what is was like being an orphan, but even he knew children were supposed to be treasured. Maybe it was because children in the magical world was such a rarity. Most wizarding couples were extremely happy to have two or three children, families like the Weasleys were quite abnormal and in the minority. Most wizarding families had at most three children and even that occurrence was rare. 

“What do you mean exactly by earn your keep?”

“Uhm… I had to everything, like clean the house, do the laundry, cook meals, work in the garden. But I kind of like working in the garden, because then I get to be outside and I can drink as much water as I want to.”

Draco just smiled and nodded at his friend. It would not do to frighten Harry right now. But it seemed as if his muggle family treated Harry Potter like a house elf and an abused one at that. It was not what Harry said, but more what he did not. Draco noticed the previous evening that Harry was the smallest first year. Even the girls seemed to tower above him. His small confession that he enjoyed working in the garden, because he was allowed outside and allowed as much water as he wanted, made Draco think that Harry’s muggle family usually hid the boy away and withheld food and drink from him.

The two boys quickly unpacked the rest of Draco’s belongings. Draco did not want to make Harry more uncomfortable talking about his muggle family, but the first chance he gets, his father will hear about this and Professor Snape as well. His father made sure to remind him, that while at Hogwarts, Severus Snape was not Uncle Severus, his godfather, but Professor Snape, his Potion’s teacher and hopefully Head of House as well.

It was just after eight when the two boys made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Adrian Pucey stopped them.

“Mr Malfoy, Mr Potter, a moment please. Professor Snape asked me to inform you that your appointments with him is this morning. Mr Malfoy, Professor Snape will see you at nine thirty, Mr Potter ten.”

Draco nodded, he expected this. Unc… Professor Snape told him that he meets with his new snakes during the first week of school, so that he could meet everybody and make sure whether they needed tutoring in certain subjects. He always made sure he knew every one of his snakes and wanted to make sure they knew he was always there for them. It was not as if they could run to their parents if they had a problem and Professor Snape was sort of their parent while at Hogwarts.

Harry was a bit worried. Could he already be in trouble? But this time he really did not do anything wrong, except maybe sorted into Slytherin, but this was the house he was supposed to be in. Maybe Professor Snape was going to tell him that Dumbledore arranged for him to be transferred to Gryffindor, because that crazy old bastard will never accept Harry Potter in Slytherin.

******

Draco made himself at home in Professor Snape’s office. He was not about to start bawling for his parents. It was not that he did not miss them, because he did. He never thought he would miss them as much, but right now, he had to help his friend. Somehow Draco did not think Harry would be willing to share his childhood with Professor Snape, mainly because the man looked about as cuddly as a Norwegian Ridgeback. He loved his godfather, but to be brutally honest, his face and demeanor did not really inspire children to run to him for a hug because they missed their mothers.

“Mr Malfoy…”

“Sorry Uncle Severus I do not mean to be rude, but right now I do not need my teacher, I need my godfather.”

Severus arched an eyebrow at his godson. His very assurance that he did not wish to be rude in itself had been extremely rude. But still, he will grant the boy some leeway.

“Very well, Draco. You have five minutes and if you are unable to convince me in those five minutes that you need your godfather and not your Head of House, I will let your insolence pass. If you are however unable to convince me of the necessity of your behavior, not only will I assign a week’s worth of detentions, but I will inform your father.”

Draco gulped. He knew his godfather. The man was not prone to idle threats and if he was unable to convince his godfather of Harry’s plight, not only will Uncle Severus assign a week’s worth of detentions, but it also meant a letter home. His parents warned him, they told him they would not tolerate misbehavior and the tarnishing of the Malfoy name.

“It is about Harry, Uncle Severus. He told me a little bit of his muggle family, but it had not been what he said, more like what he did not say. He let slip this morning that he had to earn his keep at his muggle family’s house. It sounded like they treated him like a house elf. He told me he enjoyed working in the garden, because then he could drink as much water as he wanted.”

Severus listened to his godson. He realized the previous evening something had been off with the Potter heir. The boy was the smallest first year in a very long time. Even Pansy Parkinson towered over Harry. Besides, he learned that Dumbledore placed Harry with Petunia Dursley. Something Dumbledore always swore he did not do. If not for Hagrid’s loud voice, Severus would not have learned the truth.

He could still remember Petunia Evans, now Dursley. Even as a young child the girl was bitter and foulmouthed. She looked down her nose at the Snape family, just because they were poor. It was no fault of his that his father was a miserable drunk, unable and unwilling to hold a job. His mother did the best she could with what she had. Not that she had been blameless, she was magical, she could have taken her son and leave. But she stayed, too proud to bend the knee and admit to her parents that they had been right about Tobias Snape.

He remembered everything she ever said to him and later Lily as her bitterness and envy grew. She called them freaks. She called them unnatural. There was no doubt in Severus Snape’s mind that Petunia would treat her nephew like dirt. He could basically hear her screeching voice, telling the child how much of a freak he was. Just how big a blight he was on her perfect family. Unlike Lily, Harry had nobody to defend him against the cutting tongue of Petunia.

Severus also realized that Harry most likely suffered physical as well as verbal abuse. Petunia would have supplied the verbal abuse and her husband the physical. Severus did see their wedding picture and even then Vernon Dursley had been a huge man. 

“Draco, do not worry. After I’ve spoken with Mr Potter, I will make my final decisions. If what you told me is the truth, I will personally ensure that Mr Potter never return to his muggle family.”

Draco left a much happier child than before. He knows his father and Uncle Severus would be able to save his best friend. No child should be made to feel unwelcome and unloved in his home. And that is what Harry’s muggle relatives are doing to him, even though Harry never said as much.

It was time. He had to face Severus Snape and divulge the biggest secret of his life. Even bigger than the fact that he travelled back in time to stop Dumbledore and his plans. Before he tried to tell Dumbledore, but the old man never wanted to listen, he kept telling Harry that he must stay with the Dursleys, vaguely referring to blood wards. Wards Harry now knew would never have worked, since he never called Number 4 Privet Drive home. Wards that became redundant the moment Voldemort used his blood to resurrect himself. The worst part was that Dumbledore must have known. How could he not? Dumbledore the Great, who dumped an orphaned young baby on the doorstep of his closest living relatives in the middle of the night. Covered only in a baby blanket and a note to explain everything. His very first letter had been addressed to “Harry Potter, Cupboard Under The Stairs”. Not only that but Dumbledore planted a spy close to the Dursleys. A squib who would not have been able to defend Harry even if she wanted to. Arabella Figg knew how he grew up. The crazy old woman babysat him often enough. Everybody in Little Whinging knew how the Dursleys treated their ward. She could not even explain herself by saying she only knew Dumbledore, since Harry knew she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and knew quite a few witches and wizards.

He once told Ron and Hermione. Weasley made a show of telling his parents, but nothing happened. Molly only sent him a cake and sweets on his birthday and a bloody sweater at Christmas. But then again half of the Weasley family were ardent followers of Albus Dumbledore. The only Weasley’s he trusted near the end had been George, Bill and Charlie. Hell, he even trusted Percy more than Arthur, Molly, Ron and Ginny.

Those four only saw a meal ticket when they saw Harry Potter. The naïve little boy who would make sure that Ron gains all the fame and attention, just by being Harry Potter’s friend. The stupid little boy whom they would force to marry Ginny. And make no mistake, if he stayed blind and stupid, he would have married Ginny, he would have used his status to ensure Ron became an Auror, and after Ginny produced and heir, Harry James Potter would have mysteriously died. Leaving the Weasleys with the Potter and Black vaults, the lordship, the seats on the Wizenmagot, everything.

He told Hermione and what Dumbledore told him, she gave him an indulgent pat on the back, a condescending smile and with the bossiest tone she could muster, that Dumbledore knows what is best. After her little speech, he felt guilty for ever doubting Albus Dumbledore. For ever thinking Dumbledore might not care whether Harry was abused at home. For ever doubting Albus Dumbledore and the love and affection he showed Harry Potter.

Sirius suspected, but he died in the Department of Mysteries. Right after he asked Dumbledore to use his power as Chief Warlock of the Wizenmagot to ensure he gets a fair trial. Sirius wanted Harry out of the Dursley household and then he died.

Remus and Tonks wanted him. They wanted Harry to stay with them and somehow two of the most formidable fighters died in the final battle. Nobody could remember how they died or even if they fought at all. Harry had the sinking feeling that Dumbledore might have personally murdered Remus and his bride to ensure Harry would be alone and dependent on the Weasley family.

Harry was going to make sure to save Sirius, Remus and Tonks. He will do it because he loved Sirius and Remus. They had been almost like parents to him. Make no mistake, he was still going to haul Sirius and Remus over the coals regarding the treatment of Severus Snape. They were bullies at school and Sirius even plotted the death of Severus when he sent him after Remus. Sometimes Harry believes Remus had been the worst of the Marauders. He may not have participated in most of their cruel attacks on the Slytherin, but he kept quiet. He was a prefect and he allowed James and Sirius to torture and humiliate Severus.

Harry knew he would not be able to confess the time turner mess, but he was going to make sure that Severus Snape knew of the abuse. He was never going to return to the Dursley home.

******

Severus was livid. Dumbledore lied to him and the rest of the wizarding world. Harry Potter did not live the life of a prince, he was treated like dirt by his family. Dumbledore swore time and again he visits Harry at least once a month. He swore that Harry was loved, well cared for, even pampered. Not only that, how dare Albus Dumbledore send Hagrid to accompany Harry to Diagon Alley? It was not only a school rule but a law that all muggleborn and muggle raised witches and wizards be accompanied by either a teacher or a school governor on his first trip to Diagon Alley. He knew Dumbledore would only claim that Harry was technically not a muggleborn wizard, but he was muggle raised. His primary caretakers were muggle and would not have been able to accompany Harry to Diagon Alley.

Dumbledore might just as well have sent Argus Filch to deliver the letter. He nearly ran out of his office to hex Dumbledore when Harry told him how Hagrid terrorized the Dursleys. Make no mistake, he would have done worse, but Hagrid. Merlin, the man was not even supposed to use magic.

There was quite a few things that bothered Severus. How did Hagrid get to the island? It was a well-known fact that no broom could carry Hagrid’s weight. He could have taken a thestral, but why send the animal away? Since he stole the boat the Dursleys used to reach the island, he did not even use his own boat. Then there was also the blatant magic the half-giant used. Cursing Dudley Dursley to grow a pig’s tail, using a spell to start fire, using a spell to reach the mainland faster.

What irritated and scared Severus most was the fact that Hagrid had Harry’s vault key and was put out because the goblin gave the key back to Harry. Then the fool left the boy all alone in Diagon Alley and sodded off to the Leaky Cauldron for a pint or two. Knowing Hagrid, and Harry confirmed this, the fool did not even buy the boy lunch or gave him the opportunity to eat something.

Thank Merlin Harry had been sorted into Slytherin and not Gryffindor. Unlike those bleeding hearts at Gryffindor, Severus knew all too well that blood does not make the family. That parents, or aunts and uncles, sometimes hate the children in their care and abuse them.

He would make sure Harry Potter never returns to Petunia Dursley and her house. He will ensure that Harry knows what is like to be loved and cherished by parents. He was glad that Draco made friends with Harry, because he realized that Harry would be friends with Draco in spite of the Malfoy name. And he knows Lucius and Narcissa as well, they would be willing to do anything for the child who makes their only child happy. Narcissa would be more than willing to take Harry Potter into her home and raise him like her own.

Severus Snape watched with a satisfied smirk as his owl left, the letter and the vial of memories carefully tied to his leg. Soon he would receive his answer and deliver the good news to Harry and Draco.

 

It was the first day of classes. Their first period was Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. Harry and Draco were the first two students in the classroom. McGonagall was already perched on her desk. Not that Harry was supposed to know the stiff cat was Professor McGonagall. The woman always started her very first lesson with the first years in such a manner. He figured it was a way to shock and awe the impressionable students, which usually led to some of the more brash students (usually Gryffindor) to try and attempt to become an Animagus, some with disastrous results.

One after the other the students filed into the classroom. Ron was once again late. Ten minutes after the lesson was supposed to have begun the red head finally ran into the room. A grin spread over his face as he noticed McGonagall was seemingly absent. Once again the cat jumped from the table transforming into their professor.

Harry had to mess the spell a bit, it would not do if he manages to transfigure his match into a needle on his very first try. He also kept an eye out on Granger, he will be damned if he allow the crazy girl to establish her supposed superior intellect. Besides he already knew he was smart, he proved it to himself when he scored higher than her when he obtained his N.E.W.T.S.

Granger was getting closer with her spell work, so Harry quickly cast the spell once again, perfectly transfiguring his match into a needle. He raised his hand and waited until McGonagall acknowledged him. As she was walking towards his desk, Harry could not help but think the old woman must think he was struggling and required her assistance. There was nothing more a Gryffindor loved as when a Slytherin had to beg for their help.

“Yes Mr Potter? Do I need to show the wand movements again?”

“No Professor McGonagall. I think I managed to transfigure my match into a needle.”

Harry showed her his transfigured needle, but could easily see the disbelief on her face. It was clear she thought Harry cheated and somehow knew they were going to transfigure a match into a needle and smuggled his own needle into the room.

Minerva McGonagall pursed her lips. First years were not supposed to know their very first task was going to be to transfigure a match into a needle, and Potter was most definitely not supposed to know. But a lot of things went wrong with their careful planning. Hagrid lost the Potter vault key, Potter was supposed to meet the Weasleys at the train station and become friends with young Ron. He was supposed to be a Gryffindor. In Gryffindor they would have the perfect opportunity to mold him into whatever they desired him to be and what they desired of him was to be their pawn. The perfect drone and soldier. The one who would deal the final deathblow to Slytherin and Voldemort. He was their stepping stone and key to greatness. A means to rule the wizarding world. Albus was trying to get his friends in the Ministry and on the Board of Governors to approve a resorting, but it takes time. He already threatened that bloody tatty hat to get with the program and resort the boy into the right house.

She removed another match from her pocket, grabbing the needle from the boy’s hands.

“Once again Mr Potter.”

“Excuse me Professor?”

“Did I stutter Mr Potter? Show me how you transfigured the match into a needle.”

Silence reigned in the classroom. The Slytherins watching, wanting Harry to have as many witnesses as possible if the Professor decides to accuse him of cheating. The Gryffindors because they hoped Professor McGonagall would humiliate the Slytherin traitor. Those raised in the wizarding world grew up hearing about the heroic Boy Who Lived. Their Savior, born from two proud Gryffindors. They all hoped to befriend the boy, since there must be some benefit in befriending the boy hero. It was not only Slytherins who made friends for the sheer benefit of political advancement.

Ron glared at Harry Potter. It was not fair. Dumbledore and his mother promised. They promised and they swore that he would be the best friend of Harry Potter. They also swore to Hermione’s parents that Potter would be their ticket out of poverty. Everybody believed Hermione was a muggleborn, but she was not. She was as much as a pureblood as he is. Her father graduated from Beauxbatons, because his Aunt paid for his tuition and she was a teacher at the school. Her mother had been homeschooled since her parents were even more impoverished than the Weasley family and they could not afford the tuition. Hermione’s father worked at the Ministry in the maintenance department, earning three galleons a week. Her mother managed to obtain work in Knockturn Alley, cleaning the shops. She was only paid one galleon a week. 

His parents and Headmaster Dumbledore worked so hard and now Potter was messing everything up. He was supposed to be the one who would open doors for both the Weasley and the Granger family. He heard his parents, Bill and Charlie did not know about the plan, they would never have agreed to it and would have destroyed their parents. Percy did not care, as he was ambitious as well. Percy was the one to be wary of, since he would betray them if it meant that his own career path could benefit from it. The twins had been a problem and they threatened to expose the plot, it forced Headmaster Dumbledore to obliviated them.

Ron really could not see what the problem was. It was a simple game of ‘Have” and ‘Have Nots’. Potter has money and they have not. They want the money and they deserve the money. When Potter defeated You Know Who all those years ago, everybody forgot about the suffering the Weasley family experienced. His mother lost her two brothers to the Death Eaters. Their lives had been in constant danger. They fought on the front lines, while the Potters chose to hide. No wonder Potter had been sorted into Slytherin, he was as much of a coward as his parents.

Hermione was biting her cheek. How did the Potter boy manage to transfigure his match into a needle? She was supposed to be the one who managed it first. Headmaster Dumbledore told her that she must pretend to be a muggleborn, at first it shocked the Granger family. Why should Hermione pretend to be a muggleborn when she was not? But Headmaster Dumbledore convinced them. He even paid for Hermione’s tuition at Hogwarts and promised that Hermione and Ron would be the best (and only) friends of Potter. They would be the ones to steer the orphan into the right direction and one day, when they have no further need of him, after they have taken everything and then some from him? Then they would declare him to be the next dark lord and banished to end his miserable life in Azkaban.

Harry just sighed, it was so obvious that McGonagall believed him to be nothing more than a cheater. So he took the needle, gave the correct flick of his wand and muttered the correct incantation. Between his fingers, Harry clasped his transfigured match, now another perfect shiny needle. Seeing the proof right in front of her, McGonagall was forced to mutter. 

“Adequate Mr Potter. Two points to Slytherin.”

Harry wanted to take the needle and jab the woman in the eye. If he had been sorted into Gryffindor, she would not have doubted that he succeeded and she most certainly would not have awarded a paltry two points for his accomplishment.

Granger started waving her hands. The arrogant bint managed to transfigure her match as well, the thing clasped in her fingers was not a perfect needle, it still looked like a match, albeit a silver one with a somewhat pointy end. Not that it stopped McGonagall gushing over the girl and awarding her ten points.

Luckily the bell rang, announcing the end of the lesson, and stopping Draco from losing his temper and threatening everybody with his father. Harry could see his friend gearing up to defend him and promising McGonagall that Lucius Malfoy will hear of this.

Harry nearly dragged Draco from the room.

“Don’t worry about it Draco. She is the Head of Gryffindor, of course she is going to favour her own house above the others. It doesn’t matter in any case.”

After lunch entered the History of Magic classroom. At least now they were paired with Hufflepuff. Binns was still a ghost and still as boring as hell. One would think nothing but wizard-goblin wars, goblin rebellions and goblin uprisings happened in the wizarding world. It was a small wonder that Binns lost about 95% of his students the moment they had to choose their elective subjects for their N.E.W.TS. 

With Binns droning in the background, Harry and Draco read their history book on their own. It was horrible to say but the dry textbook was more interesting than Binns. Who knew that their history textbooks contained more than just about the bad blood between wizards and goblins. The very first chapter contained the history of Hogwarts and how the school came to be. 

The days bled into each other, Quirrell was still a stuttering mess and still the worst Defense Against the Dark Arts professors Harry ever had. And that was saying a lot since they were stuck with Gilderoy Lockhart in their second year. The smell of garlic hung in his classroom and he still gave Harry an immense headache whenever he came to close. But still H had his questions whether it had really been Voldemort piggybacking on Quirrell’s head. Quirrell never called the thing Lord Voldemort, he only referred to the parasite as ‘Master’. Harry just assumed it was Voldemort, since Voldemort seemed to be the only deadish dark wizard wanting to kill him. The only person to verbally claim the wraith to be Voldemort had been Dumbledore and Harry still remembers how much that crazy old man lied to him.

Charms was still as exciting as ever and Professor Flitwick still fell from the stack of books in excitement when he read Harry’s name. Harry always liked the little professor. Professor Flitwick always treated him like a normal student in his class and when things really went south in his old life, the man was loyal to the end. He and his goblin family helped Harry to save so many persecuted witches and wizards, without worrying about their own safety.

Harry was amazed to learn that Peeves did not really bother the Slytherin students as much, but would take his chance if he thought he could get away with it. Harry learned the real reason on Wednesday. Peeves lurked in the corridor leading towards the Slytherin Common Room and Harry was the unlucky winner of being pelted with several water balloons. Marcus Flint saw the incident and calmly informed Peeves that the Bloody Baron would hear of it, before leaving.

Peeves hovered in front of Harry, trying to grab his hands, begging him, “Oh please, please don’t tell the Baron. He will murder me. He told me never to touch one of his snakes and usually I do. I stay away from His Bloodiness, but I just had to. I had to prank the snakes. Please tell him it was just this once, tell him I will never do it again.”

It was nearly a month before Peeves made an appearance in Hogwarts again. Nobody could figure out if the Bloody Baron managed to confront the poltergeist before Peeves went into hiding or whether the Baron managed to banish to poltergeist from school. The Bloody Baron only informed his Slytherins that they never need to fear Peeves again and Peeves himself kept quiet regarding the whole incident.

Soon enough it was Friday morning. Harry glanced at his class schedule, making sure he packed the correct books for his lessons. Their very first lesson would be double Potions with the Gryffindors. Just like the first time Harry could not wait for this class, but now he was assured that he would not make a fool of himself in Professor Snape’s class and that the man did hate him.

The owls swooped in and Draco smiled when he noticed the Malfoy owl heading straight towards him. Uncle Severus promised that he would do everything in his power to ensure Harry’s safety and removal from his muggle relatives. It seems as if he contacted Lucius Malfoy. If there was somebody with the right amount of power it would be his father.

Draco untied the package from Hermes’ leg before he fed him a piece of bacon. Draco quickly checked in the box. His mother added double the amount of snacks with a letter reminding him that he should share the treats with his friend. As if Draco would not have shared with Harry.

Included was a letter from his father, which he quickly read.

**Dear Draco,   
I was extremely pleased to learn of your sorting into Slytherin. I know you will make us proud and never behave in a manner unbecoming of a pureblood, a Slytherin and most of all a Malfoy.  
It gave me great pleasure to learn that you have been behaving in a proper manner this past week. I am proud of you my son.  
It was most excellent news learning that you made a friend and that you managed to befriend Harry Potter. You know everything there is to know about our family and the mistakes I made. Mistakes which tarnished the Malfoy reputation and even painted you, an innocent child, with the same tainted brush. I will be a hypocrite if I don’t say that I am pleased about your friendship with Mr Potter.   
Your godfather contacted me with rather distressing news regarding Mr Potter and his muggle relatives. As I read the missive I could not help but remember that Mr Potter’s circumstances had been exactly the reason I made the choices that I made.  
But still I could not be sure, children do sometimes exaggerate treatment and punishment they receive from their parents and caregivers and I vowed to investigate the matter in great detail before I make my final decision.  
I have concluded my investigation and request you and Mr Potter’s preens tomorrow morning in your godfather’s office. Severus will supply you with the time.  
I will see you tomorrow.  
Please behave yourself.  
I love you and are proud of you.  
Love,   
Your father**

Draco nudged Harry. 

“Harry, my father wrote me. He wants to see us tomorrow morning and arranged with Professor Snape to meet him in Professor Snape’s office.”

This was the best news Harry had in a long time. Lucius Malfoy may have been a Death Eater, but he remembers the letter Lucius left him. He was a man who would crawl naked through hell if it meant he could protect his family. Make no mistake, the man probably investigated the Dursleys and made sure that whatever Harry told about them, had been the truth.

Severus Snape entered his classroom, the man had a presence and flair which could not be denied. Just like Professor Flitwick he started the class by taking the roll call. 

“Harry Potter.”

“Here Sir.”

Severus paused and looked at Harry.

“I trust you have adjusted to Hogwarts?”

“Yes Sir. Thank you Sir.”

Harry heard Weasley whispering “Traitor” and trying to cover his word with a cough. Severus, just like Harry heard Weasley, but chose to ignore the red head for the moment. Soon enough the little menace will learn, this is not Minerva McGonagall’s classroom, he will not tolerate outbursts from students and he will especially not tolerate abuse hurled at one of his snakes.

Severus finished the roll call and looked at the class. Harry wondered how he ever believed his eyes were cold and emotionless. But Severus Snape was an excellent spy and a master Leglimens. He knew how to hide his true feelings and what to do to make those around him believe whatever he wanted them to believe.

Severus spoke in a voice barely more than a whisper, but not one student could claim they could not hear every word. He had a way to captivate a room, having them hang from his very lips, without them even realizing they were doing it.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making, As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death…if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

The silence was deafening, Harry had to suppress the urge to give the man a standing ovation. Harry wondered what kind of revenge Professor Snape planned against Weasley and his little outburst. The answer became clear as he turned towards the Gryffindor.

“Weasley, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Weasley stared at Professor Snape. It was clear he did not know the answer. Answer Harry later realized was in the very first chapter of their textbooks. Harry knew that if he prepared for classes like he used to do in his primary school, he would have known the answers and not irritate Professor Snape as such. It made the man only believe Harry Potter was indeed a very arrogant and pampered little boy, one who believed himself to be above the rules and one who believed homework was beneath him.   
“Huh?” was Weasley’s only confused answer.

Granger’s left hand shot into the air the moment Severus asked the question. He made a point to ignore her.

“Shall we try again Mr Weasley? Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?”

Granger’s left hand once again shot into the air, this time she started waving her hand, as if trying to hail a muggle cab.

Weasley seemed only more confused, “I don’t know.”

Professor Snape sneered at the Gryffindor.

“Did you not think to open a book before coming to class Mr Weasley?”

Severus gave Granger the most blistering look of utter contempt before turning his back on her and her waving hand.

"One last chance Mr Weasley. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this Granger jumped from her chair, her left hand in the air, frantically waving it around.

Weasley gave a shrug, before answering “How would I know. It seems Hermione does. Why don’t you ask her?”

Severus’ lips thinned into a slash, if his eyes could have shot daggers, both Weasley and Granger would have been turned into ribbons.

“Sit down Ms Granger! When I want you to answer a question I will personally call on you!”

The snapping tone in his voice disappeared when he turned towards Harry.

“Mr Potter, could you answer the questions?”

“Yes sir. Asphodel and wormwood are used to make a sleeping potion, known as the Draught of Living Death, because of its strength. It will make the drinker appear dead. A bezoar can found in the stomach of a goat, it is a stone and it will save you from most poisons. Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant and is also known as aconite.”

“Congratulations Mr Potter, you have illustrated the necessity of opening your textbook and preparing for class. Ten points to Slytherin for each correct answer.”

Weasley once again decided to display the so called Gryffindor courage and complained rather loudly to Neville Longbottom, “It also helps if the teacher feeds you the effing answers.”

“Mr Weasley, listen and listen carefully, because I will not say this again. I do not like to repeat myself. I do not care whether the other Professors tolerate your outbursts and rude behaviour. This type of behaviour will not be tolerated in my class. I do not discuss either my lesson plans or questions asked during the course of a lesson with anybody, much less a student. Do I make myself clear?”

Weasley gulped and only managed to give a rather nervous nod.

“Ten points from Gryffindor for Mr Weasley’s insolence and ten points from Gryffindor for Mr Weasley’s outbursts.”

Ron tried to object to the loss of points, but Hermione gave him a sharp jab in the ribs. He could not lose them more points, the rest of the Gryffindors already gave him dirty looks. 

Severus paired the students into groups of two. They would start brewing their very first potion, a cure for simple boils. He only broke up one partnership between Crabbe and Goyle. If he wanted to blow the whole castle to the moon, he would allow them to brew a potion together. The two boys would only start with their tutoring this weekend. There was no way he was going to allow any of his snakes to fail a class.

He slowly patrolled the class, students always failed to realize that brewing potions were very volatile. One wrong ingredient, or even the right one at the wrong time, could spell disaster. Halfway through he could not help but draw attention towards Draco and Harry’s station. Unlike the rest of the class, their station was clean, each ingredient prepared before they started brewing. Every last ingredient had been chopped, sliced, diced, crushed and powdered to the correct requirements and measurements. It seems like the two boys would hand in a successful potion.

From the corner of his eye Severus could see the impending disaster. Neville Longbottom melted Seamus Finnegan’s cauldron. The nervous child obviously added the porcupine quills before removing the cauldron from the heat. Finnegan did not notice the danger, as he was rushing to prepare the last of the ingredients. The failed potion splashed Finnegan and Longbottom, causing the two boys to groan in pain as large pulsing boils appeared over their hands and faces. Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown’s shoes melted from their feet the moment drops from the potion touched their shoes.

Weasley was just too happy with the outcome, since his potion looked like tar and smelled like an old rotting swamp. He should have partnered with Hermione, but Parvati Patil grabbed Hermione, begging her to be her lab partner and so he had been stuck with Dean Thomas, a muggleborn student who never even boiled the electrical kettle at home, much less as brewing a potion.

Severus quickly banished the potion, before it could cause more damage. These two boys needed to go to the infirmary at once, but who to ask. He could not take them himself and leave his classroom unattended. From the corner of his eye, Severus could see Harry and Draco bottling their potion.

“Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy, since you are finished with your potion, may I request that you escort Messrs Longbottom and Finnegan to the infirmary?”

Harry and Draco nodded and helped the two whimpering boys from the classroom. As the door closed behind them, Harry could hear Professor Snape hissing, “And what in the name of Merlin do you call this Mr Weasley?”


	6. The good, the bad and a troll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mention of rape. Neither Harry or Severus.

Harry and Draco entered Severus’ office promptly at nine the next morning. Draco eager to see his father and Harry eager to be rid of the Dursleys. Seeing his father, Draco tried his utmost best to act the pureblood, but they were not in public, they were not in his teacher’s rooms, in Draco’s mind he was in his godfather’s house and besides his father and godfather, only his best friend is present. So with a muffled shout of joy the blonde boy launched himself at his father, hugging him tightly.

Lucius could not find himself scolding his only child for his behavior. He missed his son more than he would ever admit and Lucius Malfoy would have done anything to make his son and wife happy. If they asked it of him, he would have kissed Dumbledore’s wrinkly old arse. He sank to his knees, hugging his son back, wondering how in the name of Merlin was he ever going to let his boy go, how he was going to survive until Christmas

Severus allowed father and son some time. He alone had been privy to the secret that Lucius Abraxas Malfoy was human. That the man loved his wife and son with every fiber of his being. Like so many pureblood marriages, theirs had been arranged the moment Narcissa had been born, but unlike so many of those marriages they were madly in love with each other. The craved another child and Severus knew for a fact the couple would have happily raised a family either rivalling or surpassing the Weasley brood, but it was not to be. They tried for years to get pregnant and Draco had been their little miracle. He would be their first, last and only biological child.

Draco remembered his best friend and dragged his father over to Harry. Harry was standing off to the side watching in awe at the clear display of love and affection the Malfoy family shared with each other. How many times did he listen to Ron, telling him that most pureblood marriages had been arranged and because Draco was an only child, it was clear his parents only fulfilled the marriage contract by producing an heir. According to the Gryffindor rumor mill, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy could not stand each other and slept in separate wings of their home the moment Draco popped out. Remembering Lucius’ letter and the display in front of him, Harry realized it could not have been further from the truth. Lucius and Narcissa loved each other just as much and deeply as Arthur and Molly Weasley loved each other.

“Da…Father, I would like to introduce you to Harry Potter.”

Harry gave a small bow to Lucius Malfoy, proper wizarding etiquette required a small bow instead of a handshake when meeting a witch or wizard of greater social standing or seniority. Whenever the greater would first extend his own bow then his hand towards the lesser, it greatly honored the lesser. Harry wondered in his later years why there weren’t a class on wizarding culture offered to muggleborn students. Most, if not all of the friction between purebloods and magical raised half-bloods and those between muggleborn or muggle raised would have been eliminated. It had only been when he saw Dumbledore alive and well that he realized the old man must have prevented those classes, he wanted to ensure a divide between the groups. Just like he encouraged the brutal rivalry between the houses, especially Slytherin and Gryffindor. Dumbledore needed to be seen as the champion of the muggleborn and muggles. Dumbledore presented himself as a pureblood, but Harry knew for a fact the old man had been a half-blood, just like Voldemort and just like himself. Dumbledore and his machinations made sure the muggleborn students viewed Slytherins as nothing more than evil bigots. Experience taught Harry that if a lie gets told often enough, it becomes the truth. Merlin knows after all the years listening to Petunia and Vernon, he believed himself to be a freak, unworthy of any sort of affection. So of course the Slytherins and other traditional purebloods would start to believe the lies Dumbledore spewed.

To Harry’s delight Lucius gave him a small bow, before extending his hand. Refreshments were served and pleasantries exchanged, before Lucius got down to business. 

“Mr Potter…”

“Please call me Harry, Mr Malfoy.”

Lucius smiled at the young boy in front of him. He was very impressed with the young boy, his horrid life with those thrice blasted muggles did not manage to destroy the child completely.

“Very well then Harry. As you know, both my son and Professor Snape contacted me regarding your, shall we say, less than perfect life with your muggle family. As School Governor, I would like to extend my sincere apologies. We have failed you. The Ministry has failed you. It had been our duty to protect you, just like every other child is protected. It had been our duty to make sure you are indeed loved and well cared for and for some reason, your abysmal treatment slipped through the cracks. After extensive investigation on my part, it became clear that several claims had been laid with the appropriate muggle authorities against your Aunt and Uncle, but not one claim had been investigated. By either the muggle or wizarding authorities. I am sorry to say that I can neither offer a satisfactory explanation nor assurances that these allegations, which have been proved to be truth, will ever be properly investigated and those horrid muggles brought to justice. What I can offer you however is a home and safe haven. I know I may have overstepped all bounds and proprietaries, but I have discussed the situation with my wife and have managed to secure custody of yourself. Since your Great Grandmother on your father’s side had been the twin sister of my wife’s Great Grandfather, you should have become our ward, as your closest living blood relatives after the deaths of your parents. If you consent, we would love to blood adopt you…”

Lucius suddenly found himself near choked to death by the twin hugs from both his son and Harry. Draco was nearly driven to tears, not only was his parents able to rescue his best friend, but Harry was to become his brother. A sibling Draco desperately craved. Harry was crying. He cried because he was happy, he would have been content just to know he would never have to return to the Dursleys, but he gained so much more. He gained a family, he was still going to try and save Sirius, but his first priority had been to secure his own rescue. He thought he could not be shocked or disappointed with the so-called Light side, but once again Dumbledore managed just that, because make no mistake, Harry could see Dumbledore’s sticky fingers in the inaction from authorities. He always thought Dumbledore only robbed him of a life with Sirius, but the knowledge that either the Malfoy family or even the Tonks family could have raised him, had been a bitter punch in the gut. Albus Dumbledore robbed Harry of nearly everything, he robbed him of his childhood, of his sense of self-worth, he nearly succeeded in robbing him of his life and had he married Ginny Weasley, his fortune and whatever had been left of himself.

“I…uh…take it you are amenable to the idea?”

Lucius only received a choked and teary “yes, please”.

 

The whole week Harry and Draco walked on clouds. They could not wait for the next Saturday, since the adoption would be concluded and Harry would officially become a Malfoy. He and Draco would not only be best friends, but brothers. He would never have to return to the Dursleys, he would never be abused and neglected again. He would never be turned into a weapon by Dumbledore, since his parents would rather eat glass than let that happen. He would be loved and wanted. He would no longer be The Boy Who Lived, but rather be nothing more than just a boy, just Harry.

“You know Mum is going to push for a change of name.”

“I don’t mind changing my name to Malfoy.”

“No you dunce, not your last name, of course you will be Harry Malfoy, but she will want to change your name to reflect the Black tradition. You know, like I’m Draco, which is a constellation.”

Harry had forgotten the Black family tradition of naming their children after star and constellations. He would not mind at all if they wanted to change his names, it was not as if he hated his name ‘Harry’, but all he wanted to be was normal. He was tired of being ‘Harry Potter’ the brand. Before he learned just how much of a douchebag his father had been, Harry had been proud to be named after James Potter. But both his names brought him nothing but misery. His first name was a brand and basically public domain, the second only reminded him every day about his father’s cruelty.

“As long as I’m not called Perseus or Pluto, I won’t mind.”

“Other than the fact that Pluto is no longer considered a planet, what’s wrong with the name? I can understand Perseus though, it is too easy for people to start calling you Percy…”

Draco could not help shuddering. His brother will not share a name with Percy Weasley.

“There’s these muggle cartoons, all about this talking mouse, Mickey, and his dog Pluto and I guess I do not have to explain my aversion to be called Percy.”

Draco squeezed Harry’s arm. No brother of his will ever be called Percy or named after the cartoon dog of a talking cartoon mouse.

Harry James Potter, orphan, entered Severus Snape’s quarters with his best friend. Draco Lucius Malfoy. When he exited, he had parents and an older brother, one who vowed to protect his baby brother against everybody.

Narcissa had been on pins and needles the whole week. For so long they longed for another child and at long last they would gain a child. She changed from one dress to the other, not wanting to be seen as a cold snobbish woman, but not wanting to be seen in anything but impeccable clothing outside of the Manor. She could not decide on the colour, should she choose the periwinkle blue dress or the mint green one? Maybe she should wear her soft pink dress? Lucius tried to offer assistance, only to be jinxed. He fled with little dignity to his study and nursed his bruised ego. Bellatrix was the insane sister, but Narcissa was downright scary. He would rather have risked the wrath of the Dark Lord, before vexing is wife. Not even the Dark Lord, at his most insane moments dared to cross wands with Narcissa Malfoy.

Ten minutes later Narcissa breezed into his study, dressed in a soft mint green dress, her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. She took Lucius’ breath away. Merlin he loved his wife. He started every day thanking every deity known to man that his parents chose Narcissa to be his betrothed and that Narcissa graced him with her love. Somehow he must have done something right to have Narcissa love him.

Narcissa made herself comfortable on Lucius’ lap, giving him a soft, but passionate kiss.

“Forgive me, my love?”

“There is nothing to forgive. It is I who must beg your forgiveness. What have I done right to deserve you and Draco? And soon our new son? Tell me, my angel, whom did you confund to make them believe I deserve you?”

The only answer Lucius received was Narcissa’s tinkling laughter and a kiss on the lips. Merlin, he loved this woman.

Draco and Harry awaited the arrival of Lucius and Narcissa. Draco gave Harry a formal robe to wear, although Severus had to shrink the already small robe down to fit the thin body of Harry. As Lucius and Narcissa stepped from the floo, Harry was still fighting the good fight with his hair. The more the boy struggled to get his wild hair to behave, the more his locks misbehaved. Narcissa had to bite back her laughter when she saw the boy struggling with his hair, which by this time looked like it had been invaded by a family of aggressive and drunk garden gnomes on a rampage. She hoped for the sanity of the small boy the blood adoption will tame the birds nest.

Introductions aside, Narcissa raised the possibility of adding a constellation to her second son’s moniker. She wanted to honour her family and her family’s tradition, but would understand if Harry was not willing.

“Ma’am, I would be honored if you change my name. I grew up thinking my name is either Boy or just Potter. I only learned my name was Harry when I started school. I finally learned my name is Harry James Potter when Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley to purchase my school supplies. I have been searching through my Astronomy book and like the names Orion and Altair. I just can’t decide which one I like the best, although it is your choice, even if you don’t care for either name.”

“Honey, I know this is new to you, but I – we would be honored if you would consider calling us Mum and Dad, we are going to be your parents in a few minutes.”

Harry had to wipe the tears flooding his eyes. He never dared to dream that Lucius and Narcissa would want him to call them Mum and Dad.

“How about Harry Orion Malfoy?”

“M.. Mum, can we drop the name Harry?”

Narcissa hugged her soon to be son. She understood the little boy all too well. He grew up hating his name, those horrid beasts only called him Boy or Potter, as if he was not even a child and the moment he rejoined the magical world, he was suddenly Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, The Savior and all that rot. Yes he survived against all odds, but he was still a child.

“Oh honey, anything. Maybe, since you like both Orion and Altair… “

Harry James Potter, orphan, unwanted and unloved ward of Vernon and Petunia Dursley, whipping boy of the wizarding world and pawn of Albus Dumbledore entered Severus’ rooms. Orion Altair Malfoy, beloved and wanted second son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, brother to Draco, king of his own destiny exited the rooms.

He was still short for his age, he was still extremely thin and malnourished. It did not bother Orion, since Professor Snape promised to help. He will always be shorter and smaller than the rest, but at least he will be healthy. His hair had changed, it was now the same snow white as his brother and father, but as smooth and silky as those of this father and brother. Best of all, his eyes were still green, but he no longer needed the awful glasses.

Draco predicted that they were going to have to beat off the girls with a stick. With the absolute disgust only an eleven year old boy could muster, he vowed to keep girls and their germs away from his brother.

“But my Dragon, I’m a girl.”

A scandalized look crossed Draco’s face. 

“You are not a girl,” the tone suggesting that all girls carried an incurable disease, “you are our mother.”

Only little boys could believe that girls and mothers were two different species. That is until puberty set in and soon enough they cared only for the company of those same germ infested girls and no longer revered their mothers.

******

Dumbledore ranted in his office. He received two very upsetting missives. The first informed him that his request of a resorting had been denied, Harry Potter was staying in Slytherin. He was still furiously sucking on a lemon drop when the second letter had been delivered. In a fit of fury he threw his bowl of lemon drops at Fawkes and nearly snapped his wand in half. 

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy petitioned and had been granted the right to adopt Potter. As of an hour ago the boy had been blood adopted by those things and was now known as Orion Altair Malfoy. After all his careful and calculated plans, that bloody boy destroyed it. He’s been destroying everything the second he set his ungrateful two feet on the train.

First he managed to find his way onto the platform, ruining the necessary introduction to the Weasley family. He chose friendship of a Slytherin above the friendship of Ronald Weasley. He had been sorted, against all odds, into Slytherin. His magic was supposed to have been bound and weak, instead it was as strong as it had been meant to be. He excelled in all his classes, outstripping Hermione Granger, the girl he pushed as the brightest in her year group. The only class he did not receive top marks in, had been in Minerva’s class, but only because Minerva favored Gryffindor, just like every Professor had been supposed to do. The ungrateful whelp even ignored all invitations from Hagrid to visit him.

Dumbledore summoned Minerva, Molly and Arthur to his office. He needed their input. They have to fix this mess. The boy must be returned to the fold. He needed Harry Potter, he needed the boy to revere him. None of his careful plans will come to fruition if they were unable to return Harry James Potter to their side.

All the sacrifices he made throughout his life were now no longer hanging in the balance, they had been all for naught.

He was never worried about his parents or his brother. His parents’ magical abilities had been average at most and Aberforth’s well below average at best. Then Ariana had been borne, her magical core shining bright. His sister unsettled him. She was destined to be a very powerful young witch, outshining his own skills.

It took months of careful planning and suggestions, but those five muggle boys spied on Ariana performing accidental magic. He had been the one to tell them when the girl would be playing in the garden, exactly where they had to stand to look into the garden. He suggested how they should torment her, ensuring that Ariana will become so scared she would never be able to perform magic again.

He knew his father. He knew the fool would rush to defend his precious princess and attack those five boys, eliminating all evidence of Albus’ interference. His mother surprised him by hiding her defective daughter and moving them to Godric’s Hollow. Albus thought the proud muggleborn woman will abandon her broken daughter to St Mungo’s, but the old cow clung to her only daughter.

Albus had to contain himself when news reached him of his father arrest, trial and later heavy sentence to Azkaban. The old fool refused to give evidence behind his seemingly senseless attack on five innocent muggle boys. The moment news reached them that the old man died in prison, his mother and brother believed his tears of joy to be of grief.

He never planned on Ariana accidently murdering their mother, but if not for that little serendipitous occurrence, he never would have met Gellert and his true mission in life. It had been a wild summer and for the first and last time in his long life, Albus Dumbledore nearly made a mistake. Gellert gave him everything. He shared his dreams and aspirations with Dumbledore and after Dumbledore brutally took Gellert’s virginity, he almost took the boy on as his partner. If not for Aberforth and his hot temper, Albus Dumbledore would have been forced to share his power with Gellert. Make no mistake, the boy’s ass was sweet and it felt heavenly pounding into him, but Albus Dumbledore does not share.

He had been the one to deliver the final hex that killed Ariana, years after the little bitch should have died. Aberforth suspected, but nobody would have believed him. Who would? Gellert Grindelwald fled Britain, never to set foot on the island again. Aberforth was a troubled young wizard, wilting in the shadow of Albus Dumbledore. And Albus Dumbledore was the shining star of the wizarding world, revered and adored by everybody who met him.

The only time Aberforth tried to fight back and tell the world, Dumbledore made sure Aberforth was arrested for inappropriate charms and his goats. Aberforth now spends his days in his ratty little pub in Hogsmeade. The only clientele the Hog’s Head had been able to attract had been the social outcasts and being choked to death by The Three Broomsticks.

Albus carefully planned his life. He became a teacher and with careful moves first gained the position as Head of Gryffindor, whispering poison into Armando Dippet’s ear. Dippet might have been Headmaster, but the fool did not even wipe his own arse without Dumbledore’s permission.

He foresaw Gellert’s power grab and waited until everybody begged Albus Dumbledore to assist them, before taking his former lover out. The night before their famous duel, Albus fucked Gellert raw, leaving him bleeding and bruised. The next day Gellert had been distracted by his bleeding arsehole and lost the duel. Dumbledore finally gained allegiance of the Elder Wand. He locked Gellert in his own prison, gleefully snapping the magic suppressing cuffs on the man. Every year on the anniversary of their duel, Albus would visit Gellert, gloating about his superiority, sharing his vision with the imprisoned wizard, before taking him hard and fast. Each morning he would leave Gellert bleeding on his cot, laughing at his pain and humiliation.

Tom Marvolo Riddle had been another unknown factor. The moment he met the boy, he sensed his power. For the first time in his life Albus Dumbledore felt fear. Riddle was strong. He would and could take everything from Albus, ruining his life’s work. So he made sure to terrorize the boy, by destroying his few possessions, alienating him at school and planting subliminal suggestions in Tom’s mind to investigate the Chamber of Secrets. He had hoped that Slytherin’s basilisk will destroy the threat, completely forgetting the brat was a parselmouth. He did not even succeed in destroying the boy when he made him believe it had been him and the basilisk that murdered that troublesome Myrtle Warren.

His next step forced him to suggest to Riddle to investigate Horcruxes. Not even that helped. The boy learned everything there had to be learned about them and left it at that. It seems as if nothing would work. The child was on a mission, his goals lofty. Wanting to protect muggle born against the abuse they suffered at the hands of their muggle caregivers. Wanting to reinstate the Wizarding Culture and Politics classes. Wanting to make sure total integration of muggleborn and the purebloods, eliminating the bigotry. The boy was on a mission to better the wizarding world and total segregation, but not ignorance of the muggle world.

That would not do. It was not the vision Dumbledore had of the magical world. Dumbledore envisioned a wizarding world free of Slytherins and Dark Magic. A planet ruled by the wizarding elite. Making the muggle world aware of magic and becoming the muggle’s masters and caretakers, for their own good, of course.

When Riddle requested the vacant position of Defense Against the Dark Arts post, Dumbledore instructed Dippet to deny the boy’s request, stating that he was too young. That he should gain experience first. Without Dippet’s knowledge, not that his puppet would have said anything, he poisoned Riddle’s tea. Dumbledore had been delighted to learn of Riddle and his little group of friends. One of his agents infiltrated the group and continued poisoning Riddle’s food and drink. Slowly but surely the man lost his mind, stripping him bare and remaking him in Dumbledore’s image. He needed a new Dark Lord and who better than a Slytherin and not only a Slytherin, no the last living descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself. The final nail in Riddle’s coffin had been the abduction and deaths of his wife and child.

Riddle lost his mind and abandoned his lofty goals and re-emerged from the mists as Lord Voldemort, his group of followers were now called Death Eaters and they started wreaking havoc. Destroying muggles in their wake. More and more disenchanted purebloods and to Dumbledore’s joy they had been mostly Slytherins, joined Voldemort’s cause.

Dumbledore never planned on the friendship between Lily Evans and Severus Snape, but even that worked in his favour. Nobody would ever learn the truth, but Lily Evans had been destined to be sorted into Slytherin. He forced the Sorting Hat to sort her into Gryffindor.

He had been the one to assist James Potter and his friends to construct the Marauder’s Map. He had been the one in the wings who helped them become Animagi. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter owned him a life debt, if not for him and the obscure fertility potion, they never would have gained an heir. Dumbledore had been a frequent guest at the Potter home, grooming young James Potter to become the golden boy of Hogwarts.

Since birth James Potter had been a very cruel young boy. Albus honed his cruelty to target all Slytherins, with his promise that he would look the other way and help him covering his tracks.

Nobody ever wondered why he ever allowed only one child afflicted with lycanthropy into Hogwarts. He’s never done so before and have never allowed it since. The first and last lycanthrope to receive formal education at Hogwarts had been Remus Lupin. He had been the one to inform Fenrir of Lupin Snr and his supposed bigotry against werewolves.

To his utter delight James not only befriended Remus Lupin, but Sirius Black as well. The first Black to break with tradition and become a Gryffindor. He had been the one fueling the feud between the Marauders and Snape. And just like promised he covered all James’ tracks. Every time Snape landed in the Hospital Wing, he would use the Imperious curse on Poppy, making her alter her records of Snape’s injuries and making her belief his injuries were either self-inflicted or minor at best.

He had been angry when James foiled his plans of having Lupin rip Snape to shreds, but that had also been for the best, since Snape owned a life debt to James Potter.

He had been the one to feed Snape a mild compulsion potion, which forced the boy to call his only friend a mudblood when he was once again being tormented by James and his friends.

If only the wizarding world knew the prophecy declaring Potter the one to defeat Voldemort as utter hogwash. Sybill Trelawney was nearly a squib, unemployed and unemployable, when Dumbledore found her and made his proposal. He knew Snape had been the Hog’s Head that night, licking his wounds after Dumbledore refused to employ him. He knew Voldemort would pick the Potters, since his spy in Voldemort’s ranks carefully placed the breadcrumbs. He knew Snape would betray Voldemort and beg him to save Lily.

He had been the one who suggested the Potters use Peter as Secret Keeper, sowing division in their ranks, hinting that Lupin might have gone dark and Black to obvious a choice. The only hitch in his plans had once again been a fucking baby. The Potter brat had been even more powerful that Tom Riddle and Riddle should have been able to take care of the little bastard.

Not that it mattered since Voldemort had been vanquished that night, he made sure to assist Pettigrew in his escape and fed Black information as to the location of the rat traitor. Remus Lupin was broken and impoverished, living on the outskirts of society. Soon the world will be rid of werewolves, dirty flea-bitten mongrels that they are. Sirius Black is rotting in Azkaban and will spend the rest of his miserable life there. Pettigrew was in the capable care of the Weasley’s. Harry Potter was living in exile, being groomed to become the perfect sacrificial lamb for Dumbledore’s perfect world.

But now the fucking bastard ruined everything. He ruined all of Dumbledore’s work. He cannot instill Longbottom as the chosen one, since he made sure to promote Potter as such. He should have known. Blood will out. He should have chosen Longbottom, But Lily Evans had been marked for death the second she had been born, Harry Potter signed his own death warrant when he proved to be more powerful than Dumbledore.

If only he could find a way to bring the boy back under his thumb. There must be a way. A knock on the door alerted him to the fact that his guests have finally arrived. He had to calm down, it will not do if they saw him flustered. 

“Ah, come in. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules. But I have some disturbing news to share.”

Molly paled, her freckles shining brightly against her milk white skin.

“Albus, it’s not You Know Who? He’s come back?”

“Not yet Molly. If only it had been him. It would have been easier to rectify than our current problem. Now, before we start – tea? Lemon drop?”

Declining the lemon drops, but accepting the tea, the three adults drank their tea, waiting on the host to share the news. Albus knew he had to stay calm and popped a lemon drop in his mouth, giving it a few sucks, before talking.

“I received two very disturbing letters today. The first letter had been regarding Potter’s resorting into Gryffindor. My request had been denied by the Board of Governors and the Ministry. Naturally I suspected foul play and was just about to call you, when the second letter was delivered. It seems as if the Dark faction got their claws into Harry Potter. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy petitioned to adopt Harry Potter. Their petition had been granted on the basis that Narcissa was one of the last living blood relatives on Potter’s paternal side of the family, capable of taking care of the boy. As you know I have blocked all previous attempts previously, since the familial bonds had been closer on the maternal side and since we claimed the boy was treated like royalty by his muggle family.  
This time the Malfoy bitch had proof that contradicted previous statements. Somehow they got their slimy hands on the multitude of reports made to the muggle police and child protective services. Reports that previously had not been investigated by either the muggles or our own relevant departments.  
They managed to lay their hands on the repots which had been, shall we say, misfiled? Not only that, they managed to provide valid medical reports, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the boy has been abused by his muggle relatives.  
Naturally Malfoy bribed the correct officials and Harry James Potter no longer officially exist. They blood adopted him and he is now legally their child and known as Orion Altair Malfoy.  
It clearly is an obstacle in our plans and we to readjust everything. Molly I need you to make sure Ron and Ginny knows they must befriend Harry Potter, tell them that he is just confused, that the Malfoy family has been feeding him potions and using illegal spells. And for the love of Godric, keep the twins away from the boy. I do not understand where you went wrong with those two, but nothing can control them.  
Minerva, I need you to be supporting of the little shit. Treat him like you would one of your lions, we need him on our side. We need him to willingly renounce Slytherin and the Malfoy family and return to the fold.  
I will handle Ms Granger. We must do whatever it takes to bring him back under our control.  
Arthur, I want you to investigate the possible leak in the Ministry as well try and get the Aurors to raid Malfoy Manor. I do not want Lucius Malfoy to take a shit without there being an extensive report filed in the Ministry.”

******

Orion hated the stares and whispers, following the announcement by Dumbledore at breakfast on Monday, shortly before the owls delivered the Daily Prophet reporting the blood adoption and change of name of Harry James Potter to Orion Altair Malfoy. But unlike his experience at Gryffindor every last Slytherin supported and protected him. 

Potions were still his favorite class, Quirrell and DADA was still a hot mess, but McGonagall unnerved him. She suddenly treated him with as much kindness as the cold cow could muster. She still did not award him appropriate points, but now instead of the meagre one point rewards, she awarded him twenty points for anything and everything he did.

Granger and Weasley still tried their tired old façade of hating each other. Weasley made a show of mocking Granger, teasing her, taunting her, but still he and Draco spied on the two sitting closely together next to the lake, holding hands and kissing. Draco made gagging sounds when he saw their lips touch. 

Like clockwork, Hagrid would send an invitation to tea every Friday morning. Orion no longer even bothered to open the little notes.

He realized just how much Dumbledore took from him. For the first time in his life he was free to enjoy school. It was a kind of bliss to know his only worry would be completing his homework. Draco teased him, telling him he should have fitted right in at Ravenclaw, enjoying homework. But Orion never took note of Draco and his gentle ribbing. He realized why Fred and George had so much fun together, as their best friend also happened to be his twin. And for all intents and purposes Orion and Draco were twins. The two blonde boys were never found far from the other. The only difference was that Draco was taller than Orion and had grey eyes opposed to Orion’s emerald green.

Their first flying lesson went off without a hitch, even with Neville once again falling off his broom, breaking his wrist. Orion grabbed the Remembrall, rushing after Madame Hooch and handing the orb to a weepy Neville.

“Helping Gryffindors now Ori?”

“Maybe, a little common human decency never hurts.”

McGonagall may have believed she was well hidden, but Orion spotted the old cat this time. He saw her jinxing Neville’s broom, breaking his wrist in the process, before she levitated the Remembrall from Neville’s pocket. She clearly hoped Draco would do something stupid, forcing Orion to jump on his broom and make the spectacular catch, ensuring his position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Not that it would have worked this time, since Orion was sure Professor Snape would have assigned a million detentions for breaking the rules. Now that Orion knew what to look for, he realized they were quite predictable.

Before he realized it was Halloween morning, Hedwig and Draco’s owl, Invictus, delivered to massive care packages from home. It still made Orion all gooey inside whenever he received gifts from his new parents. They made no distinction between the two boys, not caring whether their youngest child was not theirs by birth.

It was time for Charms and Professor Flitwick announced they were now ready to try and make their feathers fly. Professor Flitwick once again informed the class to break into pairs. Orion and Draco quickly took their seat, not as if anybody doubted the two brothers could be separated or would have dared to suggest it.

Orion kept an eye on Granger and Weasley, wondering how they ended up being paired, well actually it was not really such a mystery. Nobody wanted to work with Granger, since she constantly berated their efforts and fancied herself to be a professor. She would tut at her partners, before snottily inform them they were doing it all wrong. Make no mistake, the girl was intelligent, she just was not smart. She never realized people learned differently, not everybody could immediately grasp the concept and needed extra attention and practice.

Weasley on the other hand was lazy. He always waited for his partner to start, blindly copying their every move. So obviously nobody wanted to be partnered with him. They all knew being partnered with him during a lesson would either result in a failed potion and massive loss of points or not completing the assignment, resulting in a three foot essay explaining the theory behind the incantation.

He would have applauded those two frauds for their performance. They both seemed angry and disgusted being partnered together. They sat stiffly at their desk, pointedly ignoring each other.

After Professor Flitwick distributed the feathers, he reminded them, “Remember the nice wrist movements we have been practicing. Swish and flick. Swish and flick! It is also very important to say the incantation clearly, never forget Wizard Barrufio who said ‘s’ instead of ‘f’ and ended with a water buffalo on his chest.”

With that he left the children to their own devices. Soon the room was filled with swishing and flicking and yells of “Wingardium Leviosa” but nothing happened yet. Draco and Orion grinned at each other, pointed their wands at their feathers and with a dual swish and flick and clearly enunciated “Wingardium Leviosa” managed to float their feathers.

“Oh! Very well done. Class, look Messrs Malfoy both managed to float their feathers. Very well done indeed. Ten points each to Slytherin.”

Seamus Finnegan lost his temper at the Slytherin brothers achievements and gave his feather a rather harsh poke, making the feather burst into flames. His partner, Dean Thomas tried to extinguish the fire by using his hat, but only managed to ignite his hat in the process. Professor Flitwick rushed to their desk, extinguishing the fire before deducting two points from Gryffindor and assigning extra practice and a foot long essay to the theory and correct wand movements behind the spell.

Weasley was busy waving his arms around shouting the incantation at the top of his voice, with absolute zero result. The feather did not even burst into fire. On que Granger snapped at Weasley “You are doing it wrong! It is Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa. You have to make the ‘gar’ nice and long!”

Weasley ordered Granger to perform the spell if she could do it better, and with an annoyed look on her face, Granger adjusted her sleeves, before performing the spell.

“Well done Ms Granger. Two points to Gryffindor for your effort.”

“But Professor, you gave Slytherin ten points each when they mastered the spell.”

“Ms Granger, first of all neither Messrs Malfoy nor yourself mastered the spell, you merely succeeded with your attempt. As you can see both boys are still practicing. Secondly they succeeded fifteen minutes ago, which you may or may not have achieved at the same time if you did not feel the need to instruct Mr Weasley here. Lastly since I am the Professor and you are merely a student, it is not your place to instruct or correct your fellow students. Now continue practicing the spell.”

Ten minutes later their last lesson of the day ended. Orion and Draco ended up right behind Weasley and Finnegan. Weasley complained loudly, “No wonder nobody can bloody well stand her. She’s an effing nightmare.”

Granger shoved Orion to the side as she rushed from the room. Draco helped his brother up from the ground. “I can’t believe it, but I am about to agree with Weasley. Granger is a nightmare.”

Orion just smiled at his best friend and brother, “Don’t let those two ruin our day. What I want to do is relax a bit before dinner.”

“As if I don’t know what your idea of relaxing is. You are going to do homework? Even though we have the whole weekend ahead of us?”

“What’s done is done Draco. If we start today, we’ll be finished by Saturday morning, leaving the rest of the weekend open and free.”

Orion only remembered the rest of his first Halloween at Hogwarts when Quirrell came rushing into the Great Hall announcing that a troll was loose in the dungeon before performing the worst fake faint in the history fake fainting.

Dumbledore jumped from his seat, this was the moment he had been planning. Tonight was the night Harry Potter was going to prove to everybody around him and to himself that he was a hero and rush of to rescue Ms Granger.

“Children, calm down. Please return in an orderly fashion to your common rooms. The teachers will take care of the troll.”

The Gryffindors were the first to rush from the Great Hall. Not that they had anything to be worried about, the troll was rumored to be in the dungeons and they slept in one of the towers. 

Orion refused to move, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not moving my skinny little butt from the Great Hall. The troll is loose in the dungeons, our common room is in the dungeons. I just gained a brother and parents, I’m not about to risk either my life or my brother’s life.”

Draco settled down next to Orion. “I’m not moving either. We are Slytherin, not a bunch of Gryffindors, rushing off claiming to be laughing in the face of danger. Just wait until our Father hears of this.”

One after the other the Slytherins sat down. Merlin knows why Dumbledore would sent them to their common rooms, when Hufflepuff and Slytherin were located in the dungeons. They all saw Dumbledore order Professor Snape to follow the rest of the teachers, hunting for the troll, but sent Hagrid to escort the Hufflepuffs to their common room.

Lucius Malfoy will not be the only parent receiving an owl about this instance.

Dumbledore threatened every last Slytherin with extensive loss of points and detention if they did not obey a direct order and return to their common room. Still not one of them moved. How in the name of Godric was Potter going to rescue Ms Granger if the brat refused to move his fucking arse?

“I am very disappointed in every last one of you. I have given you a direct order to return to your common room and you refuse to obey. You are giving me no choice, I will give you ten minutes. In ten minutes time I will remove fifty points per student still sitting at the table.”

With that Dumbledore left, content that the children will now comply and return to their common room. The loss of points will be devastating, leaving their house in the negative, a loss they will be unable to overcome.

When Dumbledore returned ten minutes later every last Slytherin was still sitting at their table. With a silent snarl Dumbledore sent his patronus to find Severus Snape and order him to return to the Great Hall.

Five minutes later a livid Severus Snape stormed into the Great Hall. The old lemon sucking fool ordered him to watch the third floor corridor, refusing to allow him to escort his Slytherins back to their common room and even had the audacity to mention his history as a Death Eater, Azkaban, the life debt now owed to Harry Potter (the demented old shit refused to acknowledge the adoption and change of name) and the unbreakable vow he made to protect the child. The implication had been clear, if Severus Snape took time to escort his snakes back to their common room, Albus Dumbledore was going to make sure Severus Snape will be rotting in Azkaban before sunrise.

Severus clamped down on his mental shields. All the tables, except the Slytherin table was empty. The other students already safely ensconced in the common rooms. He saw Dumbledore order Hagrid to escort the Hufflepuffs to their common room, but his Gryffindor glasses really showed as he refused to extend the same courtesy to the Slytherins. They at least used their brains and refused to leave.

“You summoned me Headmaster?”

“Yes Severus. I believe you allow your house too much freedom. Every last student refused to leave the Great Hall and return to their common room. I gave them ample time to comply. My final warning included a ten minute grace period with the threat of fifty points per student still at the table when I return. As you can see every last Slytherin refused a direct order and all are still seated. The loss of points is then 7000, placing Slytherin in a negative. The first time in history any house had been in a negative. That is all, please escort your snakes back to their common room, I trust you will handle the appropriate detentions?”

“As you wish Headmaster.”

Severus escorted his house in silence to the Slytherin common room.

“I am extremely proud of every last one of you tonight. Those who wish to write to your parents, you have ten minutes before I collect your letters for delivery. I will arrange with the house elves to serve your dinner in the common room.”

One hundred and forty letters were delivered to Slytherin parents that evening. By seven the next morning one hundred and thirty nine very influential and irate parents stormed into the Ministry demanding to speak to the Minister, an independent Governor of the School Board, and the Head of the Department of Education, demanding both answers and satisfaction to their grievances.

Back at Hogwarts, Albus and Minerva sat next to Hermione Granger in the hospital wing. The girl went to the bathroom as she was supposed to, waiting for Potter to rush to her rescue, thereby establishing his hero status and cementing the friendship between Potter, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger.

But Potter again messed with Dumbledore’s plans. The blasted boy refused to move his arse to rescue Hermione and the foolish girl believed she was better than Potter and tried to defeat the troll on her own. She could have died, as it is, she was going to be disfigured for the rest of her live. Poppy had been unable to save her right leg and left eye. It was still unknown whether Poppy will be able to salvage her left arm. Godric only knows what Albus was going to tell the Grangers. Not only that but the Weasleys will demand a higher bride price, which would not have been a problem if he still had access to Potter’s vaults, but those goblins blocked his access, rendering the vault key useless and when he tried to complain, they merle produced the original agreement stating that the goblins will take charge of the Potter vaults the moment Harry turns eleven. Blast that damned boy.


	7. Everybody hates fruitcake

Dumbledore was still complaining to himself and the hapless portraits that it was demeaning to complete paperwork when Minerva entered his office. She seemed a bit flustered.

“Albus, we may have a problem. Members of the Board of Governors as well as a few parents showed up, demanding to see you immediately.”

Dumbledore sighed. It was just what he needed. He hated pretending to listen to those fools in the Board, except the few in his pocket. They at least kept the majority of his back. Nothing untoward happened, so why would the Board and parents show up unannounced at Hogwarts, demanding an audience with him? Don’t they know who he is? How dare they fail to realize he was the most powerful and influential wizard alive? He did not want to meet with them, but sometimes even he, the great Albus Dumbledore, must sometimes bow down and pander to the mindless masses.

“Please show them to my office Minnie. I really don’t have time to entertain them and their mindless droning, but I suspect this time I must. News regarding the troll and Ms Granger’s injury must have been leaked and they are here to air their silly little grievances and concerns. Time to placate the sheep, my dear.”

Dumbledore was not sitting idly by, waiting for the arrival of his unwanted visitors. He added more papers to his desk, he must seem extremely busy after all. He will remind them very gently that he is a busy man with a prestigious school to run and that his time is precious and they are wasting it. At the same time he schooled his features and hid his emotions. It would not do if they see his true face, nothing will send the sheep bleating in terror if they realize he was anything but the benevolent teacher. He practiced his gentle grandfatherly smile, softly reminding himself, “You are Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in history. Even more powerful than that Slytherin fool Merlin. You are a Gryffindor: brave, courageous and chivalrous. Unlike those evil Slytherins you will never use your power for evil. Your greatest ambition is to be the Headmaster of Hogwarts, caring for the next generation of witches and wizards, gently guiding them towards the truth and light.”

Dumbledore had just finished placing his mask in place and popped a lemon drop in his mouth, when the door opened again. Minerva entered, followed closely by four members of the Board of Governors and a handful of parents. Dumbledore was dismayed to notice Lucius Malfoy among the group. Was he here in his capacity as member of the Board of Governors or as a parent? Must be as a board member, since everybody knew Slytherins were completely incapable of love and compassion. They only procreated to ensure the continuation of their line.

“Ah what a surprise! Come to rescue me from my mountain of paperwork?”

Dumbledore smile was bright, his eyes twinkling like mad. He was the epitome of a kindly old wizard.

Lucius cleared his throat, staring at the old man in front of him with cool disdain. So Malfoy was to be the spokesperson for this little meeting? Not that it bothered Dumbledore. He had managed to handle the Slytherin over the years and he was certain he would be able to handle the cold bastard today as well, no matter their trivial complaints.

“Please sit down everybody. May I offer you some refreshments? Coffee? Tea? Pumpkin juice? Maybe I can tempt you with a lemon drop?”

Dumbledore had to hide his delight at the look of disgust on the adults’ faces when he offered them pumpkin juice and lemon drops. Oh he knew how bad pumpkin juice was for the health of the children. But the company that produced pumpkin juice belonged to him. It delighted him that parents paid him to feed their children something as unhealthy as pumpkin juice. Not that they realized how unhealthy the juice was. It was not as if he told everybody that the recipe was loaded with artificial flavourings, chemicals and sugars. It did not bother him in the least the one of the ingredients of pumpkin juice may cause birth defects, seizures, migraines, diarrhea, constipation, heart palpitations, loss of hearing and/or sight, kidney and liver damage, partial or complete paralysis and fluctuations in the magical core. His research only concluded that it may cause these negative side effects, not that it will. And besides if parents were too lazy to teach their children to eat healthy, it was not his fault. It was not also as if he drank the rubbish. What he did care about was the healthy cash injection he received from the sales. It was not easy or cheap to rule the wizarding world behind the scenes.

Lucius had to school his features and control his temper. He knew full well of the dangers pumpkin juice posed to their children. It was why he refused to allow his children to drink it. He would rather have them drink doxy piss than pumpkin juice and everybody knew how toxic and caustic doxy urine was. What he wanted to do was pump twenty liters of pumpkin juice down Dumbledore’s gullet before choking the old bastard with a kilogram of lemon drops.

“This is not a social visit Headmaster, so I am afraid we will not be enjoying the refreshments. I have been elected as spokesperson by both the Board of Governors as well as the parents. As you well know I am a senior member of the Board of Governors and do have two sons attending Hogwarts. We are here regarding the incident last night. You can very well imagine our surprise and shock when news reached us.”

Dumbledore realized with dread what was coming. They heard about the troll, the punishment the Slytherins received and most possibly the injury suffered by Ms Granger.

“With all the security measures in place, how in the name of merciful Merlin did a troll manage to gain access not only to the grounds but the castle?”

Dumbledore popped another lemon drop into his mouth, sucking furiously on the treat.

“It pains me to admit we do not know yet. But rest assured I am investigating the matter. I believe that some of our more, shall we say rambunctious, students may have smuggled the troll into the school, hoping to play a prank. I do not believe there was any malice behind their misguided actions, they clearly underestimated the devastation a troll can cause. But since no harm…”

“Headmaster, stop. If you dare to blame a handful of students hoping to prank their fellow students and their professors, think again. The wards on the school would never allow a student to bring a dangerous pet, object, creature or animal onto the school grounds. I am certain we all remember what happened to Hagrid and his pet spider?”

Dumbledore had to contain his anger. How dare those meddling fools add wards to his domain without his knowledge or approval?

“And if you have the audacity to claim that no harm came to a student, we know full well about the injuries suffered by Ms Hermione Granger of Gryffindor. Granted her injuries were caused by her delusions of grandeur and the belief that she, an eleven year old witch, would be able to subdue a fully grown mountain troll. But that is besides the fact. She was injured and as we understand it, she nearly lost her life. She and you can be glad that she only lost an eye and a leg.”

Dumbledore wanted to curse the pompous arsehole in front of him. How dare the man? How dare he threaten Albus Dumbledore? He was nothing. Lucius Malfoy was nothing more than a slimy evil Slytherin and one of these fine days, the bastard and his whole unnatural family will come to a sticky end.

“Mr Malfoy, like I was trying to say. We are investigating the matter. It was only a theory that students tried to smuggle the troll into Hogwarts, but I will let no stone left unturned in my investigation. As to the injuries suffered by Ms Granger. She was not present in the Great Hall when Professor Quirrell announced the presence of a troll in the dungeons. The poor girl was locked away in the girls’ bathroom, where the incident took place. It seems as if Ms Granger had been suffering from cruel bouts of bullying, by a number of unknown students. Taunting her for the fact that she is muggleborn, jealous of her intellect. You do realize Ms Granger is one of the smartest most talented young witches I’ve come across in years? When I was forced to deliver the devastating news to Ms Granger’s parents, they rightly wanted to gain legal assistance and sue the bullies and their parents. I managed to dissuade the Grangers from taking steps against these students, their parents, the Board of Governors and the Ministry and am in fact paying for Ms Granger’s medical treatment out of my own pocket. You will agree that it is not the fault of a few deluded children, raised by parents to believe that being a muggleborn or half-blood is horrible. You especially Mr Malfoy may appreciate the danger of racial hatred and the spouting of blood purity nonsense.”

The threat was clear. Dumbledore was going to try and blame Slytherins for the so called bullying Hermione Granger suffered. When in all truth is that the Slytherins ignored the girl, they did not like her, but the majority of the school disliked the girl. And despite Dumbledore’s implications, it was not because she was muggleborn, but because she was a bully herself, a little snot who stuck her nose in everybody’s business, bossing the other children around, trying to get them to belief everything she did, rude towards her fellow students and even rude towards the professors, all the while brown nosing the very same professors she was being rude and disrespectful towards.

“Now was there anything else?”

Dumbledore really hoped the man would take his leave and get the hell out of his office. He was sick and tired of Lucius Malfoy and his meddling. First he succeeded in finding proof of Potter’s abysmal home life with the Dursleys, contrary to what Dumbledore had been telling everybody. Then he adopts the brat and succeeds in changing his name, making Dumbledore’s already difficult mission to bring the boy to heel damn near impossible.

“There is one other matter Headmaster. For this matter I’m not only representing the Board of Governors, but concerned parents as well. Last night you ordered the students to return to their Common Rooms. Knowing full well that the troll was loose in the dungeons. Half of the school live in the dungeons. Why did you send the children back to their Common Room and not keep them safe in the Great Hall?”

“Mr Malfoy, I resent your implications. Every house was escorted by two professors, before the professors joined the search. And given the attack on Ms Granger it was clear the troll was nowhere near the dungeons.”

“Still, you could not have known that. And speaking of the escort granted to the students. Why it is that Slytherin received no such protection? Why is it that you deemed it necessary to punish the students when they stayed in the Great Hall for their own protection?”

“Mr Malfoy for the very last time, your insinuations are vile. How dare you imply that I left any of my students without protection? I told Severus to escort his Slytherins to their common room, before rejoining the search. I cannot help if the man insisted that his snakes were more than capable of protecting themselves and that he refuses to coddle the children. Maybe you should take the matter up with Severus and not me?”

“Headmaster. It was not Severus who contacted us. It was our children. Why would every last Slytherin send letters to their parents explaining last night’s events? Why would 140 children all tell the same story? Because every last one insisted you ordered Severus to join the search and proceeded to order the children to their Common Room unaccompanied. And when they refused to move from the Great Hall, fearing for the own safety, you punished them with a massive loss of points and detention?”

Dumbledore could see the disgust in the eyes of the other members of the Board. It would be possible to try and imply that the Slytherins concocted the whole story, maybe in a bid to discredit Albus Dumbledore. And maybe he would succeed, but the doubt would remain. And doubt was like a festering wound.

“I concede that there may have been miscommunication between not only myself and Severus, but between the students as well. Of course I would never insist that children be willingly exposed to danger. I will retract the loss of points as well as the detention. I trust this settles the matter? Now if you will excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I have a mountain of paperwork to finish. Hogwarts will not run itself.”

******

Lucius was fuming. The twinkling old bastard managed to have an answer to every question and concern and with him retracting the loss of points and detention, they could not even proceed to claim victimization. It was still unknown how a fully grown mountain Troll managed to gain access to the school. It was absolutely preposterous to believe for one moment that students managed to bypass their wards, but at the moment their hands were tied. 

He have to think not only of his sons and the other children, but Severus as well. If he pushes the issue, Dumbledore may very well retaliate and blame Severus. And Lucius knew what the punishment would be for willfully endangering the lives of children. Straight to Azkaban, with a hefty sentence of fifty years per child. As horrible as it is, they will not even grant him the small mercy by administering the Dementor’s Kiss, but will ensure that Severus suffers until his dying day in Azkaban. He would never to that to his friend and his children may very well hate him for life if he allowed harm to befall Severus Snape.

For the moment Lucius conceded defeat to Dumbledore. At least he managed to overturn the loss of points and detention. But he needed to protect the children and especially Severus.

******

The moment Dumbledore was sure his unwanted visitors have not only left his office, but the school grounds as well, he started swearing and pacing up and down. Every now and again sparks flew from his wand’s tip.

How dare Lucius Malfoy try and tarnish his good name and reputation? So what if he left those bloody snakes alone? Nobody but their parents and other Slytherins cared for them in any case. If the troll stayed in the dungeons and the thing actually maimed or killed one or two of them, nobody would have grieved or cared. As it is one of those slimy snakes deserved to be maimed the way Ms Granger had been. But still, he had to smooth things over. The richest families and those with the most influence, the trendsetters if you will, were Slytherin. It would not do to upset the applecart now. He still needed Voldemort’s return from death and allow the man to wreak havoc, therefor changing everybody’s perspective of Slytherins.

It was easy to sway the feelings of kids and alienate the Slytherins at school. Unfortunately the moment they left school and entered the workforce, they start meeting and working with people from other houses and in some dreaded cases other schools. It was not long before they decide that students from Durmstrang were not all dark wizards and evil. That students from Slytherin were not the evil little gits they always believed them to be. And before you know it a Slytherin is married to your child. They sit at the very same table as you and eat, pretending to be normal human beings.

Dumbledore dreamed of a world devoid of dark magic and dark wizards. A world freed from the poisonous presence of Slytherins and Durmstrang students, because make no mistake, as soon as he succeeded in freeing Britain, he will liberate Europe.

Hermione Granger was not a much loved or liked student. Both she and Dumbledore was very well aware of this. They both convinced themselves it was because she was the brightest witch of not only her year, but probably since Dumbledore had been a student at Hogwarts. Pure jealousy fueled their dislike. They also believed another reason was because she was muggleborn and the pureblood racists would have hated for that fact alone, but combined with her intelligence, was enough for them hate her. 

The majority of the staff, excluding Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid, did not hate Granger. Well, not yet anyway. They disliked her because of her behavior in class. She was disruptive. She never wanted to allow another student the chance to answer a question. She would wave her hand in the hair, making sounds, jumping up and down. If a professor dared to ignore her antics to gain the attention of her lecturer she would yell the answer out.

If a professor ask for an essay of two feet, she would turn in a ten feet monstrosity. The information followed her source material word for word, without Granger even trying to use her own words or draw her own conclusions. Her answers in class were always the same, word for word exactly the same as her textbooks, never deviating in the slightest.

And if Severus Snape, Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout received a knut every time a student complained about Granger’s smug attitude, her bigoted religious beliefs, her hateful stance against same sex couples and her propensity to slap students who did not agree with Granger, they would have been very rich before the end of the school year. 

They did not even bother taking the matter with either Dumbledore or McGonagall up anymore, since those two refused to believe any wrongdoing on the part of Granger. The students were made out as nothing more than being jealous of her intellect and prejudiced because of her blood status. They tried to punish her by giving her a failing grade for her essays, warning her that she went off topic, exceeded the parameters of the assignment and were busy committing plagiarism, Granger took her returned assignments to Dumbledore, who would change the grade from a Troll to an Outstanding.

The professors each counted the day they would be rid of the bushy haired menace. They consoled them with the knowledge that she will not make it far in the wizarding world. If only Sybill Trelawney was not a fraud, then she could at least warn the professors about the danger Albus Dumbledore and Hermione Granger posed.

 

The students dislike bothered on hatred. Hermione Granger believed she knew best and she was the one who would lead every person (student and professor alike) onto the right path, even if she had to slap, beat and punch every last one of them to behave the way Hermione Granger wanted them to behave.

It did not bother the students that Granger was a devout Christian. She had the right to follow whichever god and religion she wanted. Hogwarts and the magical community at large were a mixed cauldron of races and religion. The majority of the purebloods practiced Wicca and identified themselves as Wiccan, a religion which spilled over into the muggle world thanks to squibs in the early twentieth century. But quite a few purebloods followed other religions.

The Parvati family, pureblood despite Granger delusions that they must be muggleborn, since in her deluded little mind, she believed that purebloods must all be Caucasian, were Hindi.

Angelina Johnstone’s pureblood father was a devout Catholic and her pureblood mother practiced Voodoo.

Granger went around quoting passages from her bible, to try and convert and safe the poor damned souls of her fellow students. Completely ignoring the passage from her own bible which said one should not suffer a witch to live.

She did however manage to quote the appropriate passages regarding homosexuality and how much of an abomination it is in the eyes of her God.

She tried to force her fellow Gryffindors to use muggle products. Touting the belief that muggle products, such as toothpaste were better than their magical counterparts. But unlike muggle toothpaste, magical toothpaste not only fought the effects of tooth decay, gum disease and gingivitis, but could reverse them. 

Hermione Granger believed that the wizarding world must bow the knee to the muggle world, since in her deluded mind there were more muggleborns than purebloods. She would have been surprised if she ever learned the truth. Seventy percent of all witches and wizards were pureblood. Twenty five percent were half-blood, whether they were raised in the muggle or wizarding world. Only five percent of the witches and wizards were muggleborn.

******

It was late in November when Granger rejoined the students at Hogwarts. The night before her return Dumbledore issued an order that every student and professor must be present at breakfast the next morning. Orion knew full well why the lemon drop sucking bastard wanted them all in the Great Hall for breakfast, the old man loved using mealtimes to showcase his delusions of grandeur. It could only mean that Granger was coming back to school. 

Ever since Halloween Weasley dropped all pretense of hating the girl. He gushed, ranted and raved about Hermione Granger. How intelligent she is, how brave, how she was everything a Gryffindor should be. Brave, courageous, a hero. 

Orion had to suppress his snort of disgust each time. There had been nothing brave, courageous or heroic about Grangers actions on Halloween night. The girl blindly followed the orders of Dumbledore and hid in the girls’ bathroom. Waiting for Harry Potter to come and rescue her and take up the mantle of the hero of the wizarding world, as envisioned by Albus Dumbledore.

Quirrell and whatever was stuck on the back of his head smuggled the troll into the school on Halloween, but it became painfully clear to Harry that the man did so on the orders of Dumbledore. The entrance to the dungeons were too far from the bathroom Granger hid in. There was no way a stupid creature like a troll could find his way out of the maze underneath the school, up two flights of stairs and just happen to enter the only room which contained a human.

Orion was very well aware of the muggle saying that even a broken clock is correct twice a day, but still. It seemed a little bit too much of a coincidence. After everything he lived through and experienced before, he learned the valuable lesson, there was no coincidence in this world. Not when Albus Dumbledore had his lemon drop coated fingers stuck in the middle of the supposed coincidence.

The demented old coot planned everything in the old timeline down to the last second. He planned and plotted his every move since the second he had been born. During his first live as Harry, Orion may have blindly believed every lie rolling from the lips of Dumbledore, but he was blind and stupid no more.

He remembered his shock when he read Rita Skeeter’s tell-all book after the supposed death of Dumbledore. He cursed himself as he remembered shame faced how quickly he had been placated by Granger. Young indeed. Dumbledore had never been young and innocent. The man had been a conniving, manipulative bastard since the moment of his birth.

Aberforth tried to warn him, but he refused to listen. He had been Dumbledore’s man up until the moment he finally saw the truth, when it had been too late to save the world, to save all those sacrificed in the great chess game, as played and mastered by Albus Dumbledore.

Orion wondered about Ariana Dumbledore and the attack she suffered at the hands of those muggleborn boys. How convenient for the boys to be able to peek into the garden of a magical family. And at just the right moment? The time Ariana was playing outside, experiencing little bursts of accidental magic? Orion could almost smell the lemon drops. That incident had sticky lemon drop fingerprints all over it.

Another prominent incident was the death of Ariana Dumbledore. Orion could not help but wonder whether Albus Dumbledore had been the one to cast the curse that killed Ariana. He could not help but wonder if it had not been accidental, but on purpose? Did Aberforth suspect? 

The great duel between Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore was also called into question by Orion. While it was true that the Elder Wand changed hands and masters rather frequently, up until the moment Harry Potter became the final Master of the Elder Wand, every other master sought the wand out, after hearing the rumours and legends surrounding the wand.

But without proof he was stuck. He could not get rid of Dumbledore yet. The old coot still enjoyed too much power and support. Just like Dumbledore, he will be patient, silently countering every move Dumbledore made. He will lay in the darkness and from the dark he will make calculated counterstrikes. He need to learn the truth about Tom Marvolo Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort.

When Dumbledore told Harry the story of young Riddle, Harry believed every last word Dumbledore said. And why would he not? For six years he heard from all those around him, his supposed best friends and mentor how evil Riddle had been. The case of Voldemort was nature against nurture. How much of Voldemort’s behavior had been nature and how much nurture?

Later in his life Harry learned that nature certainly played a part, but it had always been nurture that tipped the scales. Harry refused to believe that Tom Riddle had been born evil. That there was absolutely no good or redeeming quality to the man.

Even Dumbledore downplayed the fact that Tom Riddle was raised in a muggle orphanage. Not only was he forced to stay in that depressing and dismal hellhole suffering through the Great Depression but the Second World War as well. And he would have bet his last knut that Tom Riddle had been severely punished for his bouts of accidental magic.

Dumbledore freely admitted Tom Riddle did not want to go back to the orphanage. That he begged all the professors, including Dumbledore and of course Headmaster Dippet not to be sent back to the orphanage. But each summer they sent a child back to hell, without ever checking up on their student.

Dumbledore proudly showed his first meeting with eleven year old Tom Riddle and the way he terrorized him. If Dumbledore had been a better man, he could have rescued Tom Riddle, not only from the orphanage, but the tragedy the man’s life became. 

And so they were all waiting in the Great Hall. Breakfast service had been delayed by Dumbledore and after a sly look at the Gryffindor table confirmed Orion’s suspicion. Weasley was missing this morning and that bottomless pit only lived for mealtimes. He never had been able to keep any appointment and was even late for his own wedding, but one thing Weasley never failed to arrive promptly to, it was mealtimes.

He attacked food as if he was a pack of wild dogs on the trail of a dik-dik. Orion once saw a nature program and lost his appetite for a week after noticing how the pack of wild dogs fell on the hapless dik-dik. Ripping pieces of meat from the still alive animal, the terrified bleats of terror as he was being devoured alive. 

When at last even the professors started losing their patience with Dumbledore and started grumbling, the man rose. He had been avoiding the icy glares from Severus Snape for the past fifteen minutes. Even with the knowledge and suspicions of Dumbledore’s crimes, Orion still would have believed the man’s fashion sense was a crime against humanity. He may not have been up to scratch with muggle laws, but he was sure it was against the law to torture people, even in the muggle world. And Dumbledore was certainly torturing them with his clothing.

He really outdid himself this morning. Orion wondered briefly if the man was brain damaged as well as colour-blind. Or did a blind and demented house elf dress the wizard? His robes were bright neon orange, adorned with flashing hot pink stars and hypnotizing red swirls. His hat was teal with exploding fireworks in red, pink, yellow and orange. Orion quickly looked away. One would suffer a seizure looking to long at the old bastard.

Dumbledore raised his right hand, Orion saw the flash of the hidden Elder Wand up his sleeve. So the man was not proficient in wandless magic, despite his claims to the contrary. He filed the knowledge away. It will become handy when he finally reclaim the wand.

“Silence please.”

The noise in the Great Hall died down. Dumbledore twinkled at the students in front of him. Ever the benevolent, if slightly eccentric, old wizard.

“We welcome Ms Hermione Granger from Gryffindor back this morning. I would like to ask all students to respect Ms Granger’s privacy, but still be mindful and assist her in any way possible. She made a remarkable recovery after the horrendous injuries she suffered and I think I speak for all of us when I applaud her bravery. Not only her actions on the night of the attack, but as well as her bravery to a world which showed her nothing but disdain and pain. I ask that every student,” at this the old fool had the audacity to glare at the Slytherin table, “be mindful and respectful. Bigotry and the ignorant belief in blood purity will no longer be tolerated at Hogwarts. I encourage students to actively stand together and work to eradicate the antiquated and harmful beliefs. My door is always open and if you happen to overhear, witness or even suspect another student of being a bigot, please inform me or any of the professors. I am not allowed to expel a student, but please bear in mind, your house will suffer for your actions. There will be severe loss of points as well the most unpleasant detentions in your future.”

With this the doors to the Great Hall opened. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley entered. Granger made sure to fake a pronounced limp in her walk. Not that she needed it, the artificial right leg looked, worked and felt exactly the same as her left leg. She could flex and bend her knee and ankle. She was able to wiggle the toes and even had feeling in the leg. But they needed to remind Harry Potter about the consequences of his inaction. They needed to make the boy feel guilty and remind him daily that Hermione Granger had been injured by his actions.

She had been a bit miffed when she heard she would not be receiving the Auror grade artificial eye, but understood that she may in future very well be receiving the eye. She fell in love with the idea of an eye which can see through objects and was even able to see through invisibility charms and the odd invisibility cloak.

Granger also took the news regarding her parents in stride. She loved them, but these past few years their attitude changed. They refused to change churches and became productive members of the true church. She spent hours on her knees praying for her parents and pleading for their salvation. Then came the revelation that she was a witch and in her mind the final nail in the coffin of the dead relationship between herself and her parents.

She understood why Headmaster Dumbledore had to obliviated them and send them away. She did not even care that the Headmaster convinced her parents they lived unnatural lives as gays. It was God’s punishment for their transgressions. Albus Dumbledore was the hand of God and he will smite all those who offend and refuse to repent and convert.

******

It was nearing the winter break. The Malfoy brothers spent every free moment planning their Yule at home. This was going to be Orion’s first festive season as a Malfoy and even including his old life, it was going to be his first true Yule. The Dursleys never allowed him to celebrate Christmas with the family and even though he had been forced to prepare their succulent Christmas meal, he was never allowed at the table. He was never even allowed to eat as much as a potato from their table. His Christmas dinner was spent locked in the cupboard, if he was very lucky, or locked outside in the cold. His Christmas dinner was always a bit better than the other meals, since Aunt Petunia would begrudgingly give him two slices of fresh bread, four slices of fresh cheese, and two slices of sandwich ham and a cup of warm milk. The vindictive old cow really broke out the Christmas spirit of giving once a year.

Professor Snape already informed Dumbledore that he will not be at Hogwarts over the break, since every Slytherin was heading home. Dumbledore had not been pleased and had been trying his best to not only keep Snape in the castle, but the Potter brat as well. He absolutely refused to refer to the boy as Orion Malfoy. He was Harry James Potter and the Saviour of the wizarding world. He wanted to isolate the two wayward wizards. He needed Snape to be miserable and angry. He needed Snape to hate Potter and project all of his hatred towards James Potter and the Marauders onto the only child of James Potter.

He had to gift James’ invisibility cloak to the brat. In his misery the boy will use the cloak and wander the corridors at night. And Dumbledore will subtly steer him in the direction of the Mirror of Erised. In front of the charmed mirror the boy will see his parents and the reminder of their loss and the part Slytherins played in their death, will steer him back towards the Light. He refused to lose his pawn to the dark. Without Potter all of his careful planning came to naught. It was too late in the game to instill Longbottom as the hero, besides, Longbottom was nearly a squib and a quivering, cowardly mess.

He was not quite worried that he had been thus far unable to find the damned cloak. But he had so many possessions, it became a bit difficult after time to remember where he stored exactly what. It reminded him he had to visit Gringotts to make another withdrawal from the Heir vault of the boy. He still had not abandoned his endeavors to try and convince the goblins to grant him access to the other Potter vaults.

He was waiting for the arrival of Potter and Snape. They will be brought to heel and stay at Hogwarts over the winter break. Adopted by the Malfoys indeed. He was still the magical guardian of Potter and if he had to invoke ancient magic to force the boy to stay at the castle and return to the Dursleys at the end of the school year, he will.

A soft bell alerted him to the presence of this two most important pawns.

“Come in Severus, Mr Potter.”

Orion scowled at the old man, whilst Snape eyes turned icy. Orion was the first to speak.

“My name is Malfoy, Headmaster. Orion Altair Malfoy. Please use it.”

Severus had to enforce his Occlumency shields, lest he burst out in laughter at the tone of Orion’s voice. He really was a fast learner and managed to master the Malfoy disdain down to a pat.

“Mr Potter…”

“Albus, was there a specific reason for your summons? I still have a few essays to grade and Malfoy needs to finish packing. And no, I will not enjoy a cup of tea and I will certainly not accept your offer for a lemon drop.”

Dumbledore plastered his best hurt little puppy look on his face. They must realize how much they hurt him with Potter’s attitude and Severus’ harsh words.

“Well Severus, actually there is. It is regarding the Christmas break. I pains me to ask this of you, my boy, but I need you to stay over the break. Poppy informed me that she is running short on a variety of potions.”

Severus sneered. He should have expected this. Luckily he finished brewing for the hospital wing just this morning and at present, Poppy’s stocks were not only more than sufficient to last the winter break, but will last her until the end of January.

“You must not have spoken to Poppy today then? I already made sure that the hospital wing is stocked and well stocked at that. She will not need my brewing services until the end of January. I will therefor still be leaving tomorrow morning to enjoy a well-deserved and long overdue Yule break.”

Dumbledore had to force himself before he smashed his head in frustration on his desk. He should have checked with Poppy before using potions and the hospital wing’s stock as an excuse. But the damage had been done. He could not stop the man from leaving the caste. But he could still force Potter to stay behind.

“Ah, what a happy occurrence then. I spoke late last night to Poppy and was unaware that you were already in the process to remedy the situation. I will no longer keep you and wish you peaceful Christmas and hope you come back well rested. You deserve it my boy.”

Severus made no effort to remove himself from Dumbledore’s office. He suspected before that Dumbledore may try underhanded tactics to keep him and Orion at Hogwarts, but now he was certain of it. He may just try and coerce Orion to stay at Hogwarts, abusing his position as Headmaster in the process.

Dumbledore’s eyes flashed in anger, before he managed to project his supposed gentle and friendly nature once again.

“Mr Pot…”

“Malfoy” Orion interjected. Dumbledore chose to ignore the child.

“Mr Potter. I must insist you stay at Hogwarts during the Christmas break. We also need to discuss your summer.”

“What do you mean Headmaster? I will be going home not only for the Yule break, but during the summer holidays as well.”

Dumbledore chose to play dumb, knowing full well with ‘home’ Potter meant Malfoy Manor.

“Oh, Harry, my boy. I’m so glad you see reason. Your Uncle and Aunt misses you and cannot wait for summer. They do however understand the need to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas.”

Orion’s mouth gaped. What the hell was in the old man’s lemon drops? Before he could snap at the Headmaster, earning himself detention over the Yule break, a quick knock announced the arrival of Lucius Malfoy.

“Good morning Headmaster. There must be some mistake at the Ministry, because I received a missive informing me that Orion’s magical guardian has been insisting that Orion not only stay at Hogwarts over the Yule break, but return to the Dursleys during the summer? As Orion’s father and magical guardian, I came to clear this misunderstanding up, before Rita Skeeter somehow manages to get her claws into this news. I suggest you investigate who has been impersonating you, before he or she manages to cause serious damage to your pristine reputation.”

******

The boys were finally asleep, allowing the adults to discuss Albus Dumbledore and his machinations.

Severus accepted the glass of elven made wine, taking a sip, before turning to Narcissa.

“Cissy, you should have seen Dumbledore’s face when Lucius entered the office. He looked like he sucked on the sourest lemon in existence.”

“We need to thank Augustus for his warning. It seems as if the change in Orion’s magical guardianship has been misplaced by the Ministry. And those little quill pushers did not seem to find it strange that Orion had a different magical guardian. While it is possible, there is usually a valid reason. Such as Neville Longbottom. Frank and Alice are still listed as his parents, but Lady Longbottom is registered as his legal and magical guardian. There would be no reason for Dumbledore to be registered as Orion’s magical, or legal, guardian. While no longer, not since we blood adopted him.”

They did not need to voice their concerns. Dumbledore was a very revered and popular wizard. And more than a handful of not only Ministry workers, but Wizenmagot members, would gladly cut of their own right hands if Dumbledore just asked them to. They were blindly loyal and devout to Dumbledore. But at least the managed to salvage the situation.

Dumbledore will only receive the horrible news with the delivery of his daily issue of the Daily Prophet. Lucius discreetly leaked the news to Rita Skeeter and the vile woman will make sure that by noon the following day, every witch and wizard will know that somebody tried to kidnap Orion Malfoy by pretending to be his magical guardians.

They all knew Dumbledore was the one to apply, trying to abuse his erstwhile power as their son’s magical guardian. Did he believe them to be so stupid and neglectful that they would not remember to change their son’s magical guardian?

 

Dumbledore arranged his robes around them, staring at the near empty Great Hall. He hated the fact that the majority of students left the school during the winter break. Not that he missed them and their disruptive behavior, he missed every lost opportunity to mold them to his will. He was still unable to find the missing invisibility cloak and he also needed to visit Gringotts this morning. Hermione’s medical treatment had not been cheap and he needed to withdraw extra money from Potter’s vaults. He hated visiting Gringotts and dealing with those filthy creatures at the bank. It would not be long now. Soon enough Ginny will be married to Potter, Hermione will be the Minister of Magic, a positon she will hold for life, a position which will be transferred to her children. And when she is Minister and he finally has the magical world under his control, he will get rid of every sentient creature out there. Starting with vampires and ending with unicorns. 

The owls arrived with their morning mail and newspapers. Dumbledore placed the newspaper next to his plate. Unlike the uncouth bastards in the Great Hall, Dumbledore never read the paper or his mail in their presence. Lost in his own little world, dreaming of his perfect vision of the world, he missed the small gasps coming from the handful of students. Besides the little cretins were always making noise. 

Dumbledore popped one of his beloved lemon drops into his mouth before reading his mail. The usual Christmas card from Aberforth, which promptly found its way to Dumbledore’s fireplace. A letter from Arabella Figg, enquiring whether the boy will be returning to the Dursleys. They had been giddy with joy from the first of September when they found their unwanted ward missing from home. His statement from Gringotts, informing him that his bank account was now in credit and he need to pay an amount of ten million galleons within thirty days, or make the necessary arrangements for immediate down payment. Dumbledore frowned. How could this be possible? Even after the medical bills his vault had been filled with gold. There must be some sort of clerical mistake at Gringotts, just goes to show. One cannot trust a bloody goblin. They will steal humans blind. Oh well he needed to visit Gringotts in any case, so now he will have a chance to demean a few goblins in the process.

He happily popped another lemon drop into his mouth before unfolding the newspaper. The headline made him choke on the treat, before he managed to dislodge the sweet. A choked and frantic spell sent the offending lemon drop flying across the room, hitting the portrait of Armando Dippet right between the eyes.

~~WHOLESCALE CORRUPTION UNCOVERED AT MINISTRY. ELPHIAS DOGE ARRESTED  
By Honestra von Wahrheit

It came to light early yesterday that somebody had been attempting to pose as the magical guardian of an unnamed underaged wizard, The Ministry, Auror Department and Wizenmagot refused to release the name of the intended victim. Only stating that they were protecting the privacy of children, as per the Child Protection Act, Law 24 of 1958, as amended, requires. Unnamed sources close to the investigation did mention that Lord Lucius Malfoy has been seen at the Ministry, before the scandal broke which prompted the investigation. Lord Malfoy declined to comment and referred this reporter back to the Auror Department.

After a swift, but extensive investigation, Elphias Doge, long standing member of the Wizenmagot and better known for his lifelong friendship with Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizenmagot and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW.

For reasons yet unknown Mr Doge filed several documents at the Ministry claiming to be an unknown wizard in his capacity as magical guardian of the minor. These attempts came to light when the true magical guardian of the child in question received a missive from the Ministry, prompting his visit to the Ministry, inadvertently uncovering the crime.~~

Dumbledore could not help but be glad for the blind loyalty afforded to him by Elphias Doge. He would never reveal that he tried to file the applications on behalf of Albus Dumbledore. He should expect a visit by a few Aurors, he had the sinking feeling they may very well visit him and try and catch him in a lie.

He also still had to visit Gringotts and sort the mess out with the goblins. This was going to be one of those long and horrible days. He just knew it. But he will demand satisfaction at the bank. If the goblins know what is best for them, they will fix their mistake and return his funds to his vault.

It did not bother Dumbledore in the least that all but ten thousand galleons was fraudulently removed from the Potter Heir vault. It was his money and he had the necessary approval by the Ministry, as the previous magical guardian of Harry James Potter, to remove funds from the Heir vault to ensure the care and upkeep of the boy. It did not bother him in the least that not one knut had been given to the Dursleys as compensation.


	8. Chapter 8

WARNING – THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER!

NEW HORIZONS is currently being rewritten, fixing all the mistakes I made in old chapters.

For some insane reason I merged plot lines from New Horizons with another story I am working on and is in the process of cleaning the mistakes.

I do have a fic I’m working on where Hermione is only posing as a muggle born student, but it was never supposed to be in New Horizons.

Over the next week I will be replacing the old posted chapters with the rectified chapters. New chapters will soon follow.

Thank you for every positive comment and kudo and all of my faithful readers who have stuck with me.


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